■M fc-Or 


























































































































































































* 4 

v 

HO «. 

V\'l^ r */> .0^ 

'* & A* + 

<p „V *■ 

t _ * TS//MAVS* ' - 

q A % -v . 

<• 'O. I * A "a V 




-V> 

\> 

^<A O t 

%>, 

NT \> 

T» 



♦ ^ 1 



-20. -f 



^ Vt V - se> 

-A ❖ <,j> » 

A Cr_ m" 

\'\ o *, 

A' , o N c . *2- y * * > - . i h 

r n C _ ** <?-> ,-Q <. * v 8 * . %* 



> * ' ’’VflJJ'M * \ 

^I A 

C 1 \ >' s ^ 

* *p \ v 

r, ^ ^ * 


\v 

i. V 



*£ 5 v> 

<A - o 

r> > 

\ ' O, * 

. T3-. . <V 0 N C ^ 

>, <y ' <^‘ 

^ V . 0a W, 

?/ ^ ^ ^ V ^ 


—* X 1 <*^\J 

*' - jP , 

*~ %A -AW5 

^ 7> - VVAX " 






> 0 

Sa v 


<* 

°<. >- 


A •r \ \ _ V 

'V' " o ,.0^\-' 1 * * % '" ■ ‘A 

- *U* v* 

* 


o 0 

.o N o ■* \ 0 _ 

K A v 

■*. a , 

** » , 

Z! v _ /£ 

C, X' Z A' 

;V ^ <= 

-V r ** * 

*s' A 0 , ^ 

h 0 k v * 1 1 * A 




v y 0 , x ^ «’\ o s 

'f' '"& * ^thTs-. f °-H 

’ " •' ' %' ° 

: ;>|»: 

•>> . rf. :. J? ' T li'- ~Ci, 

<■ r\J O 'As 

*5 <0 "o , '\ O.* 

^ * 9 I 1 

s- ’ “ u /• O s' * * r . 

* *P V’ v 

o a\' 

, ^ ^ ^ 

a'' o N c y » * s s <* 

1 ^ ^ G 0 ' v * 1 *\ ’ 

r .y, y >H #'7? //^s ^ 

* o 0 X » 

* 4 t*. 



1 / 

5^\F * 


£> -4 

^ y 0 

« x ^ 1 


> 
















, o S ' 

^ ^ * 0 / % V> 7 // 

$L = % «p » 

'/% z 



V _«.! 



© ca> 

* .v ^ 

V /T's'‘ > -C> - y 

0 > , 11 ^ ^ 

> <-* ~MhL' J*' - 

oo' * > 


of ,,..,°®V*"’*' v \V 

T* <P 5» * v * 

* -*t(. <A * (JX^^/j. ^ <*> .v, * # 

" *>*> C. Jv . - v< //?i o </> .vV o - 

^ ^ ^ ,'.*<£>> 4 y ^ >V^ 

' ^ % \ m~s: J>\ = 

-». ^ /\ c£- ^ \ A * 

o * x * A ^ 




_ - ^ mX V^ ^ °-0 

S' ^\V>Ov^ V r\ 
r >y y x « r\ J 

Z ^ A » <3 Cl, «■ -£> 



8 I A 


" N ^\**r ^ '* ° N°^ A 0 ° 

■-e. v. * * ..-v r 



* 

C> L 

* 0 * V s * . , 

/i V y, * 





=? - <$■% 

■o _V >? 

s s «&0 . . <T y 



. A r [CP 51 * <p V 

* ^ <A or rA A r <?v >v * 

: ^> v' - ° z <$» ^ 

A * v ^ 




<f> 

V. * -_™_ - v 

C^" Z i>'*^® r v 

\ o ^ / s s . (3 



r . A 





































' 





ft 


Alexander IX.. Emfekok of Russia. 


















Mehemet Murad, the New Sultan of Turkey. 












THE 


Russo-TurkishWar: 


COMPRISING 

AN ACCOUNT OF THE SERVIAN INSURRECTION, 

THE 

Dreadful Massacre of Christians in Bulgaria, 

AND OTHER 

TURKISH ATROCITIES, 


WITH 

THE TRANSACTIONS AND NEGOTIATIONS OF THE CONTENDING POWERS 
PRELIMINARY TO THE PRESENT STRUGGLE, THE MILITARY 
RESOURCES AND DEFENCES OF THE COMBATANTS, 

AND THE 


STIRRING BATTLES™THRILLING INCIDENTS ft WAR 


TOGETHER WITH 


A HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION OF RUSSIA AND THE RUSSIANS, 
THE RISE. PROGRESS AND DECLINE OF THE OTTOMAN 
EMPIRE, AND SKETCHES OF THE PEOPLE, MAN¬ 
NERS AND CUSTOMS AND DOMESTIC 
LIFE OF BOTH NATIONS. 


BY 

R. GRANT BARNWELL, 

ii 

AUTHOR OF “THE LIFE OF MOODY AND SANKEY," ETC., ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED WITH MAPS AND NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS. 


PHILADELPHIA, PA.: 

THE KEYSTONE PUBLISHING CO., 

* ' 1 - 

N. E. Cor. Tenth and Filbert Sts. 

c/m - . 













Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by 
JOHN E. POTTER & COMPANY, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
















PREFACE. 


The eyes of thinking people are now turned to the great struggle in 
Eastern Europe for the supremacy of the Bosphorus, and to the effort 
of the Slavonic races of the Danube to throw off the Turkish yoke. 
The desire of the Russians to possess themselves of Constantinople is 
as old as the nation itself. It has its origin, not in political ambition 
only, but in a determination to rescue from infidel bondage their 
brothers of the Slavonic race and of the Orthodox Church. The posi¬ 
tion of the Russian Christians under the Tartar domination was very 
like the present position of the Christians in Turkey. For some time 
after the conquest, Russia was ruled as Bulgaria is now; then she 
obtained her rights and powers similar to those of Servia and Rou- 
mania at the present day; and ultimately she gained complete inde¬ 
pendence. Thus the Russians long formed the vanguard in the cause 
of Slavonic emancipation. They were the first of the Slavonic people 
to fall under the Tartar yoke, and the first to emancipate themselves. 
This they have not forgotten ; and we cannot wonder that they should 
now sympathize with those kindred races which are striving to follow 
their example. 

Encamped for four centuries in Europe, the Turks have deviated 
but little from the manners and customs of their Asiatic forefathers. 
Although, from the day that the cannon of Mohammed the Second 
? opened the breach in the wall of Constantinople—which still exists, to 
attest the fall of the Emperor of the East—they have been undisputed 
masters of the fairest and richest dominion upon earth; yet the great 
body of them still retain the primitive customs and habits which they 
brought w T itli them from the mountains of Koordistan. They have in 
no degree either shared in the improvement, or adopted the manners. 



VI 


PREFACE. 


or acquired the knowledge of their European neighbors. Notwith¬ 
standing their close proximity to, and constant intercourse with, the 
democratic commercial communities of Modern Europe, they are yet 
the devout followers of Mohammed; notwithstanding that they every¬ 
where admit that the star of the Crescent is w T aning before that of the 
Cross, they still adhere in all their institutions to the precepts of the 
Koran. They rely with implicit faith on the aid of the Prophet, 
although they are well aware that the followers of Christ are ultimately ! 
to expel them from Europe; and themselves point to the gate by which 
the Muscovite battalions are to enter when they place the cross upon 
the dome of St. Sophia. 

In the present volume it is designed to give to the American reader 
a succinct account of the relations existing between the two nations 
now at war, to show the causes which, in their gradual development, 
have led to the present conflict, and to present a vivid and truthful 
picture of the social and domestic life, habits, and surroundings of the { 
belligerents. The author has endeavored to avail himself of all t 
accessible sources of information, and from the large accumulation of 
materials, he has selected only such as will be most likely to interest 
the general public. The aim has been to make the work comprehen¬ 
sive in scope and full in information; and the events narrated are 
brought down to the present date. 




CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Early History of Russia.17 

CHAPTER II. 

Peter the Great to Nicholas. 45 

CHAPTER III. 

Nicholas I. to Alexander II...85 

CHAPTER IV. 

The Russian Peasantry. 100 

CHAPTER V. 

Travelling in Russia .. • • . . 112 

CHAPTER VI. 

The National Church. 124 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Priesthood. 138 

CHAPTER VIII 

The Grand Tour .. • • . 15a 

CHAPTER IX. 

Trade and Industries.169 

CHAPTER X. 

Russian Village Communities. 187 

CHAPTER XI. 

The Towns and Mercantile Classes. 202 

(vii) 














viii 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER XII. 


The Russian Capital , 


PAGE 

. 219 


CHAPTER XIII. 

The Imperial Administration. 




CHAPTER XIV. 

The Zemstvo, or Local Administration . . . 


235 


251 


CHAPTER XV. 

Origin of the Turks.. 266 


CHAPTER XVI. 


The Ottoman Turks.. . 279 


CHAPTER XVII. 


Conquest of Constantinople.. 293 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

Decay of the Turkish Power.. 317 




CHAPTER XIX. 

Revolts against the Ottoman Power. 333 


CHAPTER XX. 

The Turkish Administration... 341 


CHAPTER XXI. 

Constantinople and the Bosphorus...355 


CHAPTER XXII. 

Christians in Turkey. 365 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

Events Preceding the War.380 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

The War in Servia and Montenegro . . . . 


399 


CHAPTER XXV. 


Efforts for Peace 


414 


















CONTENTS. 


IX 


CHAPTER XXVI. 

TAG 

The New Parliament.-.43 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Hostilities Begun ... • . . . .44: 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

The Campaign in Asia.42 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

Operations in Bulgaria.481 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Passing the Balkans.501 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

Operations before Plevna .522 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

Around Kars . 536 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

Operations around Erzeroum . ..560 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

The Capture of Kars. 568 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

Siege and Capture of Plevna. 573 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 

Events in Eastern Bulgaria.585 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

The Advance to Sophia.600 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

From the Balkans to Philippopolis.. . 614 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

Close of the War ..624 


a 


















LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Map of the Ottoman Empire, Kingdom of Greece, and the Russian 

Provinces on the Black Sea. 

Alexander II., Emperor of Russia .. v '» . 

Costan Pasha, Civil Governor of Herzegovina. 

A Russian Peasant or Serf.19 

Beggars in St. Petersburg.21 

A Russian Camp.23 

Map of Russia and the Seat of War.25 

A Peasant Mother and Child.27 

A Winter Scene in St. Petersburg.29 

The Russian Songstress, Mademoiselle Belocca.31 

Russian Officers in Consultation.33 

Russian Peasant Girls.35 

The Russian Grand Duke Nicholas.37 

A Peasant Couple on the March.39 

Cynrovitch—the Future Emperor of Russia.41 

A Russian Patriarchal Church.43 

Cossacks on the March.44 

The Representatives of the Russian Government at Constantinople . 47 
The Emperor of Russia Driving on the Nevski Prospect, St. Petersburg. 49 

Ceremonies of Blessing the Neva, at St. Petersburg.51 

The Great Bell at Moscow, or the Tsar Kolvkol ..53 

Russian System of Feeding Soldiers in Line.56 

The Grand Duke Nicholas and Military Officers of the Russian 

Army, at St. Petersburg. 

A Review of Russian Troops.6j 

Field Battery of the Russians on the River Danube.65 

Winter Camp-Life of Russian Soldiers.67 

Russo-Greek Church, Bucharest.71 

00 





























LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. x i 

PAGE 

Shoeing Cavalry Horses in Russia.73 

A Russian Military Post on the Pruth.76 

General Ignatieff, Russian Ambassador at Constantinople.79 

A Scene in Nevski Prospect, near St. Petersburg.83 

Rations being Served to a Detachment of Russian Soldiers.85 

Soldiers of the Line after their Uniforms.89 

Friends of the Servian Cause making Contributions.91 

Russian Soldiers being Reviewed by the Czar.95 

An Ambulance Train in Servia attacked by Wolves.97 

The Fortress at Trebizond, Asia Minor.101 

Asiatic Reserves at Tiflis.105 

The Czar Designating Additions to the Regular Army.109 

Nicholas Shishkin, Russian Minister to the United States.113 

Mounted Oriental Soldiers.117 

An Oriental Traveller.121 

Kalmuk Sacrifice.125 

Lighthouse on the Black Sea, near the Bosphorus.129 

Princess of Montenegro.133 

Fort Borneo, Black Sea ..136 

Two Brides, with a Group of Kirghis, of Siberia.139 

The Russian New Floating Dock at Nicolaiff.143 

Fortress Kavibjeh, on the Bosphorus.146 

Souk and Family.149 

General Ignatieff’s Orderly.,.153 

Camp Life in Russia.157 

A Russian Escort en route to Military Camp at Piva.161 

Fort Miveanitzia, Black Sea..165 

A Russian Inn.17° 

Grand Duke Michael, Commander of the Russian Army in Asia . . . .173 

Fort Buyuk Liman, Black Sea . ..176 

Consecration of a Bulgarian Banner.179 

A Military Reception in St. Petersburg.183^ 

Russians Preparing Supplies for the Hospitals.186 

Russian Ladies Preparing for a Banquet.189 

A Reunion of Russian Soldiers.193 

Russian Peasants at Home. *97 





































LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


xii 

PAGB 

A Street Scene in Moscow.201 

The Mail Coach from Kars to Alexandropol, with Russian Escort . . 205 
Roumanian Priests at Ploesti, Blessing the Emperor of Russia with 

Bread and Wine.209 

Religious Devotion on Board of a Black Sea Steamer.213 

Bulgarians Transporting Money under Escort.217 . 

View of Rustchuk from Giurgevo, on the Danube.221 

Russian Cossacks Exploring the Country.225 

General Nepokoitschitzky, Chief of the Staff of the Russian Army 

on the Danube.229 

Winter Palace in St. Petersburg .233 s 

Ice-Elephant and Fountain...234 •• 

A Russian Bath.237 

A Russian Village Smithy.241 

Cossacks Entrenched behind their Trained Horses.245 . I 

Lieutenant T. Doubassoff, of the Russian Navy.249 

Oriental Worship.250 

A Travelling Tartar Family.253 

View of Yassy (Moldavia).257 

Russian Peasants.261 

Halt of a Russian Military Convoy.265 

Mohammed.267 

Constantinople...271 

A Turkish Mosque.».274 

A Mohammedan Mosque.275 

Mosque and Tomb of Sultan Mohammed.278 

Social Life in Constantinople.281 

Church of St. Sophia, Constantinople.285 

A Turkish Bank Note..288 

An Oriental Prince and his Attendants.292 

A Curious Column near Constantinople.296 

A Modern Oriental.300 

Interior of a Caf£ at Constantinople.304 

An Eastern Monarch in his Audience Chamber.307 

A Mohammedan Tomb . . •. 71 , 




































LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. x jii 

PAGE 

An Eastern Band of Musicians.. . . . 313 

A Turkish Bazaar.318 

Tartar Rural Life.321 

. The Great Mosque at Gaza.325 

An Egyptian Orchestra.329 

Exterior of a Modern Turkish Church.332 

Oriental Form of Obeisance. 334 

Turkish Fountain.337 

Interior of a Modern Turkish House.340 

An Oriental Baker. 343 

Oriental Form of Worship. 345 

A Sultan’s Mosque.351 

Modern Egyptian Dinner.354 

A Turkish Funeral.357 

Servian Women Decorating Graves.361 

An Ambassadorial Audience with the Sultan.366 

A Turkish Barber.371 

A Bulgarian Bridegroom Sending Presents to his Bride. 375 

A Turkish Mosque.379 

A Woman’s Normal School in Constantinople.381 

Natives of a Herzegovinian Province.385 

Moldavian Stages.390 

Map of the Turkish States.395 

Woman of Mostar.4°° 

Tartar Meat Merchants. 4°5 

The Doseh. 4°9 

Underground Houses on the Banks of the Danube River.415 

Tartar Girls at School. 4*9 

The Muezzin Calling to Prayers. 4 2 3 

Discussing the Eastern Question at a Ministerial Council, Constan¬ 
tinople . 427 

A Travelling Tsigane Family.-. 43 1 

Bulgarian Villagers Watching the Russian Approach.435 

An Egyptian Pasha on his Divan. 43 & 

Mehemet Ali, Commander-in-Chief of the Turkish Army in Bulgaria . 44 2 





































XIV 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAG* 

Departure of Midhat Pasha for Brindisi, in Exile. 445 

The New Iron-Clad Monitor Novgorod, on the Danube.449 

The Advance Guard—Russian Army. 45 2 

Abdul Kerim Pasha, Commander-in-Chief of the Turkish Army . . . .455 

On the Danube—A Flight from Nicopolis.459 

A Russian Battery Commanding the Danube.461 

Hobart Pasha, Commander-in-Chief of the Turkish Navy.463 

Opening Fire by the Russian Battery at Ibraila.467 

View of Widdin, from Kalafat.471 

Prince Charles of Roumania.•.475 

Combat between Cossacks and Bashi-Bazouks...479 

Europeans Starting for a Ministerial Ball in Constantinople.483 

Apollon Ernestovitch Zimmerman.487 

Preparing to Bridge the Danube from Widdin to Kalafat.491 

The Grand Duke Nicholas, in the Costume of a Circassian Chief . . . 494 

Scene on a Turkish Gunboat.497 

A Russian Ambulance Train.500 

General Joseph Vladimirovitch Gourko.503 

A Russian Military Supply Train.506 

A Russian Monitor on the Danube.509 

Servian Staff Officers and Monks holding Council in a Monastery. . . 512 

Reinforcements Arriving to Barricade the Danube.515 

Village in the Southern Part of Russia.519 

Feeding Pigeons in Constantinople. 523 

Mehemet Murad, the New Sultan of Turkey.527 

.Scene on the Quay at St. Petersburg.. 530 

Native Turkish Troops Foraging on the March.533 

Bombardment of Rustchuk—Scene in a Turkish Military Hospital . . 535 
Before Plevna—Turkish Cavalry Reconnoissance and Repulse .... 538 
Final Charge of the Turkish Cavalry at the Battle of Kaceljevo . . 541 
The Costume of Russian Peasants in the Environs of St. Petersburg . . 544 

A Tartar Family. 547 

A Mountain Battery leaving Constantinople for the Defence of the 

Balkans .^g 

Assembly of Bucharest (Moldavia).. 





























LIST OF ILL USTRA TIONS. xv 

PAGE 

A Turkish Bayonet Charge at Shipka.551 

The Evening Prayer.552 

New Contrivance for Transporting Wounded Bulgarians.553 

Colonel Wellesley Inspecting the Grivitza Redoubt.554 

Russian Attack on the Bridge and Town of Loftcha.555 

The Turks Before Plevna, waiting the Attack.556 

Turkish Prisoners on their Way to Russia ..558 

A Saracenic Pavilion.559 

The Relative Positions of Kars and Erzeroum.569 

A Turkish Arabah.573 

Plevna and its Approaches.583 

Grand Duke Constantine, Admiral of the Russian Fleet.587 

Jews Offering Prayers for the Success of the Turkish Arms. . . . 591 

Erecting Military Hospital Tents.595 

Tiie Softas leaving Constantinople.601 

An Outpost of the Turkish Army.607 

Russian Jewish Merchants bartering for Goods.615 

Constantinople and Vicinity.625 

Scene on the Bosphorus.635 

Door of an Oriental Private House.637 



























The Russo-Turkish War. 


CHAPTER I. 

EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA. 

The earliest annals of Russia only furnish occasional glimpses of 
numerous barbarous hordes roaming over its surface. These nomadic 
tribes, classed under the common appellation of Sarmatians and 
Scythians, at a very early period began to menace the Roman frontiers, 
and even before the time of Cyrus the Great of Persia had invaded 
what was then called the civilized world, particularly Southern Asia. 
They inhabited the countries described by Herodotus between the Don 
and the Dnieper; and Strabo and Tacitus mention the Raxalani, 
afterward called the Ros, as highly distinguished among the Sarmatian 
tribes dwelling in that district. The Greeks early established colonies 
here; and in the second century the Goths came from the Baltic, and, 
locating in the neighborhood of the Don, extended themselves to the 
Danube. 

In the fifth century, the country in the neighborhood of these rivers 
was overrun by numerous migratory hordes of Alans, Huns, Avarians, 
and Bulgarians, who were followed by the Slavi, or Slavonians, a 
Sarmatian people, who took a more northerly direction than their 
predecessors had done. In the next century, the Khozari, pressed 
upon by the Avarians, entered the country between the Volga and the 
Don, conquered the Crimea, and thus placed themselves in connection 
with the Byzantine Empire. These and numerous other tribes directed 
the course of their migrations toward the west, forced the Huns into 
Pannonia, and occupied the country between the Don and the Alanta; 
while the Tchoudes, or Iohudi, a tribe of the Finnic race, inhabited 
the northern parts of Russia. All these tribes maintained themselves 
by pasture and the chase, and exhibited the usual barbarism of 
Wandering nomades. 

2 


( 17 ) 



18 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA. 


The Slavonians, coming from the northern Danube, and spreading 
themselves along the Dnieper, in the fifth and sixth centuries, early 
acquired, from a commerce with their southern neighbors, habits of 
civilized life, and embraced the Christian religion. They founded in 
the country afterward called Russia the two cities of Novgorod and 
Kiev, which early attained a commercial importance. Their wealth, 
however, soon excited the anxiety of the Khozari, with whom they 
were compelled to maintain a perpetual struggle. But Novgorod 
found another and more formidable enemy in the Yaragians, a race 
of bold pirates w 7 ho infested the coast of the Baltic, and who had 
previously subdued the Courlanders, Livonians, and Esthonians. It 
is not improbable that those Varagians formed a part of those 
Scandinavian nations, who, under the names of Danes and Saxons, 
successively made themselves masters of England. To these bold 
invaders the name of Russi, Russes, or Russians, is thought by the 
most eminent authors to owe its origin. Be that, however, as it may, 
it appears certain that in these dark ages the country was divided 
among a great number of petty princes, who made war upon each 
other with great ferocity and cruelty, so that the people were reduced 
to the utmost misery; and the Slavonians, seeing that the -warlike 
rovers threatened their rising state with devastation, were prompted 
by the necessity of self-preservation to offer the government of their 
country to them. In consequence of this, a celebrated Yaragian chief, 
named Rurik, arrived in 862, with a body of his countrymen, in the 
neighborhood of Lake Ladoga, and laid the foundation of the present 
Empire of Russia, by uniting his people with those who already 
occupied the soil. 

Rurik has the credit of being jealous for the strict administration 
of justice, and enforcing its exercise on all the boyars, or nobles who 
possessed territories under him. He died in 879, leaving an only son, 
Igor, who, being a minor, Oleg, a kinsman of the deceased monarch, 
took on himself the administration of affairs. The new monarch 
appears very early to have projected the extension of his territories, 
by annexing to them the settlement which the Slavi had formed about 
Kiev, against which he soon undertook a formidable expedition. He 
collected a numerous army, and, taking with him the young Prince 
Igor, opened the campaign with the capture of Lubitch, and of Smo¬ 
lensk, the capital of the Krivitsches. Having reduced several other 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA 


10 





A Russian Peasant, or Serf. 





































































































































































































































































































































































































































20 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA . 


towns, he advanced toward the rival city of Kiev, the possession of 
which formed the chief object of his ambition. As he did not think it 
advisable to hazard an open attack, he had recourse to artifice; and, 
leaving behind him the greater part of his troops, he concealed the 
remainder in the vessels that brought them down the Dnieper from 
Smolensk. Oleg himself, disguising his name and quality, passed for 
a merchant sent by the regent and his ward Igor on business of impor¬ 
tance to Constantinople; and he despatched officers to Oskhold and 
Dir, the two chieftains of the Kievians, requesting permission to pass 
through their territory into Greece, and inviting them to visit him as 
friends and fellow-citizens, pretending that indisposition prevented him 
from paying his lespects to them in person. The princes, relying on 
these appearances of friendship, accepted Oleg’s invitation; but when 
they arrived at the regent’s encampment, they were surrounded by the 
Varagian soldiers, who sprang from their place of concealment. Oleg, 
taking Igor in his arms, and casting on the sovereigns of Kiev a fierce 
and threatening look, exclaimed: “You are neither princes, nor of the 
race of princes; behold the son of Rurik!” These words, which formed 
the signal that had been agreed on between Oleg and his soldiers, were 
no sooner uttered, than the latter rushed on the two princes, and laid 
them prostrate at the feet of their master. The inhabitants of Kiev, 
thrown into consternation by this bold and treacherous act, made no 
resistance, but opened the gates of their city to the invader. By this 
means the two Slavonian States were united under one head. 

Having thus made himself master of the key to the Eastern Empire, 
Oleg prepared to carry into effect his ambitious designs against Con¬ 
stantinople. Leaving Igor at Kiev, he embarked on the Dnieper with 
eighty thousand warriors in two thousand vessels. The inhabitants 
of the imperial city had drawn a massy chain across the harbor, 
hoping to prevent their landing. But the invaders drew ashore their 
barks, fitted wheels to their flat bottoms, and converted them into 
carriages, which, by the help of sails, they forced along the roads that 
led to the city, and thus arrived under the walls of Constantinople. 
The Emperor Leo, instead of making a manly resistance, is said to 
have attempted carrying off his enemies by poison; but, this not 
succeeding, he was obliged to purchase from the conqueror an 
ignominious peace. Oleg obtained the completion of his wishes by 
the rich booty which he carried off, and his people, dazzled with 




21 


EARL V HISTORY OE RUSSIA. 



the brilliant success which attended his arms, thought him endowed 
with supernatural powers. 

Oleg maintained the sovereign power for thirty-three years; nor 
does it appear that Igor had any share in the government till the 
death of his guardian left him in full possession of the throne, a.d. 912, 
at which time he had reached his fortieth year. He soon discovered 
marks of the same warlike spirit which had actuated his predecessor. 
Among the nations that had been subjugated by Oleg, several, on the 
accession of a new sovereign, attempted to regain their independence; 
but they were quelled, and punished by the imposition of a tribute. 
Igor, however, soon had to contend with more formidable enemies. 
The Petchenegans, a nation hitherto unknown, quitted their settle¬ 
ments on the Yaik and the Volga, and made incursions into the 
Russian territory; and Igor, finding himself unable to cope with them 
in arms, concluded a treaty of alliance. 

The Russian monarch w r as now far advanced in years: but the 
insatiable rapacity of his officers, ever craving fresh spoils from van- 

































22 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA. 


quished nations, impelled him to turn his arms against the Drevlians, 
for the purpose of obtaining from them an increase of their yearly 
tribute. In this unjust attack, he was at first successful, and returned 
loaded with the contributions which he had levied on that people; but 
having dismissed a great part of his troops with the spoils of the 
vanquished, and marching with the remainder too far into the country, 
he fell into an ambuscade, which the Drevlians, now grown desperate, 
had formed, on his approach, in the neighborhood of Korosten. The 
Russians were overpowered, and Igor, being taken prisoner, was put 
to death. This occurred in 945. 

Before the death of Oleg, Igor had married a princess of a bold and 
daring spirit, named Olga, by whom he had one son, Sviatoslaff; but 
as he w r as very young at the death of his father, the queen-mother Olga 
assumed the reins of government. Her first care was to take signal 
vengeance on the Drevlians, who, satisfied with the death of their 
oppressor, appeared desirous of renewing their amicable intercourse with 
the Russians. Olga, concealing her real designs under a specious veil 
of kindness, appeared to listen to their overtures, and received the 
deputies of Male, but immediately ordered them to be privately put to 
death. In the meantime, she invited a larger deputation from the 
Drevlian chief, which she treated in*the same manner, taking care that 
no tidings of either murder should be carried to the Drevlians. She 
then set out, as if on an amicable visit, to conclude the new alliance; 
and having proclaimed a solemn entertainment, to which she invited 
some hundreds of the principal inhabitants of the Drevlian towns, she 
caused them to be treacherously assassinated. This was but the first 
step to the dreadful vengeance which she had resolved to inflict on this 
unhappy people. She laid waste the whole country, particularly near 
the town of Korosten, where Igor had lost his life. For a long time 
she could not master the place, as the inhabitants, dreading the hor¬ 
rible fate that awaited them from the revengeful spirit of Olga, defended 
themselves with valor and success. At length, being assured of clem¬ 
ency, on condition of sending to Olga all the pigeons of the town, they 
submitted; but Olga, causing lighted matches to be fastened to the 
tails of the pigeons, set them at liberty. The birds flew to their usual 
places of residence in the town, which were speedily in a conflagration. 
The wretched inhabitants, endeavoring to escape from the flames, fell 
into the hands of the Russian soldiers, planted round the town for that 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA. 


23 





A Russian Camp. 


purpose, by whom they were put to the sword. Though not uncommon 
in the annals of a barbarous people, this transaction is sufficient to 
hand down the name of Olga with detestation to posterity. The prin¬ 
cess was, however, the first of the barbarians who professed to embrace 
Christianity. She failed in persuading her son to follow her example, 
but induced a few of her subjects to do so. 

It is probable that Olga retired from the administration of affairs 
soon after her profession of Christianity ; for we find Sviatoslaff in full 
possession of the government in 957, long before his mother’s death. 
This prince has been considered one of the Russian heroes; and if a 
thirst for blood, a contempt of danger, and disregard of the luxuries 
and conveniences of life, be admitted as the characteristics of a hero, 
he deserves the appellation. He took up his habitation in a camp, 
where his accommodations were of the coarsest kind; and when he had, 
by this mode of life, ingratiated himself with his troops, he prepared 
to employ them in those ambitious projects which he had long been 
forming. 

His first expedition was against the Khozari, a people already men¬ 
tioned, from the shores of the Caspian, and the Caucasian mountains, 




















24 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA. 


who had established themselves along the eastern shores of the Black 
Sea. These people had rendered tributary both the Kievians and the 
Yiateches, a Slavonian nation that dwelt on the banks of the Oka and 
the Volga.N Sviatoslaff, desirous of transferring to himself the tribute 
which the Khozari derived from the latter people, marched against 
them, and appears to have succeeded in his design. He defeated them 
in a battle, and took their capital city Sarkel, or Belgorod. It is said by 
some historians that he annihilated the nation; and it is certain that, 
from that time, no mention is made of the Khozari. 

The martial fame of Sviatoslaff had extended to Constantinople; and 
the Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, who was then harassed by the Hun¬ 
garians, assisted by his treacherous allies the Bulgarians, applied for 
succor to the Russian chieftain. A subsidiary treaty was entered into 
between them, and Sviatoslaff hastened with a numerous army to the 
assistance of his new allies. He quickly made himself master of most 
of the Bulgarian towns along the Danube; but, receiving intelligence 
that the Petchenegans had assembled in great numbers, ravaged the 
Kievian territory, and laid siege to the capital, within the walls of 
which were shut up his mother and his sons, he hastened to the relief 
of his family. 

Having defeated the besiegers, and obliged them to sue for peace, he 
resolved to establish himself on the banks of the Danube, and divided 
his hereditary dominions among his children. He gave Kiev to Yaro- 
polk; the Drevlian territory to Oleg; and on Vladimir, a natural son, 
he bestowed the government of Novgorod. On his return to Bulgaria, 
however, he found that his affairs had assumed a very different aspect. 
The Bulgarians, taking advantage of his absence with his troops, had 
recovered most of their towns, and seemed well prepared to resist the 
encroachments of a foreign power. They fell on Sviatoslaff, as he 
approached the walls of Pereiaslavatz, and began the attack with so 
much fury, that at first the Russians were defeated with great slaugh¬ 
ter. They, hovever, soon rallied, and, taking courage from despair, 
renewed the battle with so much eagerness, that they in turn became 
masters of the field. Sviatoslaff* took possession of the town, and scon 
recovered all that he had lost. 

During these transactions, the Greek Emperor Nicephorus had been 
assassinated, and John Zemisces, his murderer, had succeeded to the 
imperial diadem. The new Emperor sent embassadors to the Russian 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA. 


25 


















































26 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA. 


monarch, requiring him to comply with the stipulations of his treaty 
with Nicephorus, and evacuate Bulgaria, which he had agreed to 
occupy as an ally, but not as a master. SviatoslafF refused to give up 
his newly-acquired possessions, and prepared to decide the contest by 
force of arms. He did not live to reach the capital; for having, con¬ 
trary to the advice of his most experienced ofiicers, attempted to return 
to Kiev up the dangerous navigation of the Dnieper, he was intercepted 
by the Petchenegans near the rocks that form the cataracts of that 
river. After remaining on the defensive during the winter, exposed to 
all the horrors of famine and disease, on the return of spring, in 972, 
he attempted to force his way through the ranks of the enemy; but his 
troops were defeated, and himself killed in the battle. 

Yaropolk, the sovereign of Kiev, may be considered as the successor 
of his father on the Russian throne; but his reign was short and 
turbulent. A war broke out between him and his brother Oleg, in 
which the latter was defeated and slain. Vladimir, the third brother, 
dreading the increased power and ambitious disposition of Yaropolk, 
soon after abandoned his dominions, which were seized on by the 
Kievian prince. Vladimir had retired among the Varagians, from 
whom he soon procured such succor as enabled him to make effectual 
head against the usurper. He advanced toward Kiev before Yarapolk 
was prepared to oppose him. The Kievian prince had, indeed, been 
lulled into security by the treacherous reports of one of his voyvodes , 
who was in the interest of Vladimir, and who found means to induce 
him to abandon his capital, on pretence that the inhabitants were 
disaffected toward him. The Kievians, left without a leader, opened 
their gates to Vladimir; and Yaropolk, still misled by the treachery 
of his adviser^ determined to throw himself on the mercy of his brother; 
but before he could effect this purpose, he was assassinated by some of 
his Varagian followers. By this murder, which had probably been 
planned by Vladimir, the conqueror, in 980, acquired the undivided 
possession of all his father’s territories. 

The commencement of Vladimir’s reign formed but a continuation 
of the enormities which had conducted him to the throne. He began 
with removing Blude, the treacherous voyvode , by whom his brother 
had been betrayed into his power, and to whom he had promised the 
highest honors and dignities. The Varagians, who had assisted in 
reinstating him on the throne of his ancestors, requested permission to 



EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA, 


A Peasant Mother and Child. 













































































28 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA. 


go and seek their fortune in Greece. He granted their request, but 
privately advised the Emperor of their approach, and caused them 
to be arrested and secured. 

Vladimir engaged in numerous wars, and subjected several .of the 
neighboring states to his dominion. He seized on part of the Polish 
territory; and compelled the Bulgarians, who dwelt in that which now 
forms the government of Kazan, to do him homage. He subdued the 
Petchenegans and Khazares, in the immediate neighborhood of the 
Kievian state; he reduced to his authority Halitsch (or Kalisch) and 
Vladimir, countries which are now known as Galicia and Lubomiria; 
he conquered Lithuania as far as Memel, and took possession of a great 
part of modern Livonia. 

This monarch, having settled the affairs of his Empire, demanded in 
marriage the princess Anne, sister to the Greek Empress Basilius 
Porphyrogenitus, His suit was granted, on condition that he should 
embrace Christianity. With this the Russian monarch complied; and 
that vast Empire waa thenceforward considered as belonging to the 
patriarchate of Constantinople. Vladimir received the name Basilius 
on the day he was baptized; and, according to the Russian annals, 
twenty thousand of his subjects were baptized on the same day. The 
idols of paganism were now thrown down, churches and monasteries 
were erected, towns built, and the arts began to flourish. The Sla¬ 
vonian letters were also at this period first introduced into Russia; and 
Vladimir sent missionaries to convert the Bulgarians, but without 
much success. We are told that Vladimir called the arts from Greece, 
cultivated them in the peaceable periods of his reign, and generously 
rewarded their professors. His merits, indeed, appear to have been 
very considerable. He has been extolled by the monks as the wisest 
as well as the most religious of kings; his zealous exertions in pro¬ 
moting the profession of Christianity throughout his dominions acquired 
for him the title of saint; and succeeding historians, comparing the 
virtues of his character with the age in which he lived, have united 
in conferring on him the appellation of “ Vladimir the Great.” 

His son Yaroslav, who reigned thirty-five years and died in 1054, 
at the age of seventy-seven, was a prince of considerable attainments, 
and a great patron of the arts. The Church of St. Sophia, at Nov¬ 
gorod, was by his order decorated with pictures and mosaics, portions 
of which are said.to remain to the present tipae. His expedition 


EARLY HISTORY OF ROSS/A. 


29 



A Winter Fcene in St. Petersburgh. 


against Constantine XI., who then held the sceptre of the Eastern or 
Greek Empire (though unsuccessful), as well as his acquirements, and 
the splendor in which he lived, made his name known and respected 
throughout Europe. Three of his daughters were married to the 
Kings of France, Norway, and Hungary; and his eldest son, Vladimir, 
who died before him, had for wife a daughter of the unfortunate 
Harold, the last of the Saxon Kings of England. 

Yaroslav, at his death, divided his Empire, as was usually the case, 
among his sons. Vladimir Monomachus, his grandson, who died in 
the early part of the next century, did the same; and as the Russian 
monarchs were blessed, generally speaking, with a numerous offspring, 
the country was continually a prey to internal dissensions and strife; 
and these family feuds were not settled until an appeal had been made 
to the sword, which, being congenial to the disposition of the people 
and the temper of the times, was frequently prolonged for years. In 
'.he year preceding the death of Monomachus, Kiev was nearly 
destroyed by fire; and, from the great number of churches and houses 


















































30 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA. 


that fell a prey to the flames, the city must then have been of great 
extent and opulence. This calamity was followed in the succeeding 
reign by a still greater one, when the sister capital, Novgorod, was 
desolated by a famine so awful, that the survivors were not sufficiently 
numerous to bury the dead, and the streets were blocked up by the 
putrid corpses of the inhabitants I 

The reigns which followed this period of Russian history are 
distinguished by little else than continual wars with the Poles, 
Lithuanians, Polovetzes, and Tchoudes, with this exception, that the 
town of Vladimir, built by Yury L, in 1157, became in that year the 
capital instead of Kiev. But a more formidable enemy than the 
inhabitants of the countries and tribes already mentioned drew near 
the Muscovite territory, in the person of Tuschki, the son of 
Zinghis Khan, who, emigrating with his Tartars westward, led them, 
about the year 1223, from the shores of the Sea of Aral and the 
Caspian to those of the Dnieper. The Circassians and Polovetzes, 
having endeavored in vain to arrest the progress of tho horde, 
were at length constrained to apply to their hitherto inveterate foes 
for assistance; and, the cause being now equally dear to all parties, 
the Russians made an intrepid stand on the bauks of the Kalka. The 
impetuous attack, however, of the invaders was not to be withstood, 
and, the Prince of Kiev treacherously abstaining from taking part in 
the battle, the Russians were completely routed, and scarcely a tenth 
part of an army composed of one hundred thousand men escaped. The 
enemy then pursued his way unmolested to the capital, which he took, 
and put fifty thousand of the inhabitants of the principality of Kiev to 
the sword. The further progress of the Tartars northward was marked 
by fire and sword ; but, having reached Novgorod Severski, they faced 
about and retreated to the camp of Zinghis Khan, who was at this time 
in Bokhara. 

Thirteen years after, Batow Khan, grandson of Zinghis, desolated 
Russia afresh, committing every species of cruelty, and aggravated, 
breaches of faith with the towns who submitted to his arms. In this 
manner, the old provinces of Riazan, Periaslavl, Rostov, and several 
others, fell into his hands; for, with incredible apathy, and contrary to 
their usual warlike inclinations, the Russian princes neglected to raise 
any troops to dispute their progress; and Yury II., Prince of Vladimir, 
who was at this critical juncture occupied in celebrating the marriage 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA . 


31 



The Russian Songstress, Mademoiselle Belocca. 


































































32 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA. 


of one of his boyars. At length, suddenly rousing to a sense of his 
desperate position, he placed himself at the head of some troops hastily 
called together, and left his family under the protection of one of his 
nobles, trusting that his capital would be able to sustain a long siege. 
He was mistaken; the Tartars soon made themselves masters of Vladi¬ 
mir, and the grand princesses, as well as other persons of distinction, 
were burnt alive in the church in which they had taken shelter. On 
hearing of this tragical event, Yury marched with his adherents to 
to meet the foe. The contest was sanguinary and short; but, after per¬ 
forming prodigies of valor, the Russians were borne down by over¬ 
powering numbers, and their prince was left among the slain. There 
was now nothing to dispute the march of the ruthless Tartars, and they 
pushed forward to within sixty miles of Novgorod, when they again 
turned round, without any ostensible motive, and evacuated the Russian 
territory. 

The wretched condition into which the southern and central parts of 
the Empire were thrown by these invasions, afforded a most advanta¬ 
geous opportunity for other enemies to attack it; and accordingly, in 
1242, and during the reign of Yaroslav II., the Swedes, Danes, and 
Livonians, sent a numerous and well-disciplined army to demand the 
submission of Novgorod. This, Alexander, the son of the reigning 
sovereign, refused; and, leaving his capital, he advanced, unaided by 
any allies, to meet his opponents, and fought the celebrated battle of 
the Neva, which gained him the surname of Nevslci, and a place in the 
Russian calendar. The personal courage of Alexander in this battle 
was of the highest order, and mainly contributed to secure the victory. 
His memory is still cherished by the Russians, and the order instituted 
in honor of him is much valued. 

A cruel and constantly fluctuating war with the Tartars, various 
incursions by the Livonians, Lithuanians, Swedes, and Poles, and the 
most frightful civil discord among the several almost regal provinces 
of Russia, consumed fourteen successive reigns, between Yury II., who 
died in 1238, and Ivan I., who succeeded his father in the principality 
of Vladimir in 1328. The aspect of Russia during this period was 
that of a gloomy forest rather than an empire. Might took the place 
of right, and pillage, authorized by impunity, was exercised alike by 
Russians and Tartars. There was no safety for travellers on the roads, 
or for females in their houses; and robbery, like a contagious malady, 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA. 


33 



Russian Officers in Consultation. 

infested all properties. The Tartrrs, adding insult to injury, arrogated 
to themselves the power of protection of this or that interest; and, in 
the case of Ivan I., Uzbek Khan secured to him the possession of Nov¬ 
gorod, as well as of Vladimir and Moscow. Ivan’s father had greatly 
beautified and improved the latter town; and Ivan followed his exam¬ 
ple, and made it his residence. Here also resided the Metropolitan, 
and it therefore rapidly advanced in importance. Ivan’s reign of thir¬ 
teen years was remarkable as improving and peaceful, and he exercised 
a sound discretion by building a wall of wood around the city* which 
supported a rampart of wood and stone. At the close of his life he 
took monastic vows, and died in 1341. In the reign of Ivan II., second 
eon of the previous monarch of that name, Moscow established its pre¬ 
eminence as a city, and became a capital of the Empire. 

3 































34 


EARL V I/ISTOR V OF RUSSIA. 


Ivan II. died in 1358, and was succeeded by Dmitri III., who died 
in 1363. The throne was then occupied by Dmitri IV., under whom, 
towards the close of this century, the Russians raised an army of four 
hundred thousand men, and met the Tartars near the Don, who were 
defeated with great loss. This terrible contest lasted three days, and 
was known in after ages as “ the Battle of the Giants.” The victors, 
however, suffered greatly; and when Dmitri reviewed his army after 
the battle, he found it reduced to forty thousand men! This success 
obtained for him the surname of Donskoi. Subsequently, however, to 
this victory, the Tartars again advanced; and Dmitri, betrayed by his 
allies, the princes of the neighboring States, deserted Moscow, which 
fell by capitulation into the hands of the ruthless invaders, who devas¬ 
tated it with fire and sword until it was utterly destroyed, no building 
being permitted to remain except those which happened to have been 
constructed of stone by the grand Prince. 

The character of Dmitri IV. is thus given by the metropolitan 
Cyprian: “ He knew,” says that ecclesiastic, “ how to soften the 

kingly office by condescension, he was impartial in the administration 
of justice, and delighted to promote the peace and happiness of his 
subjects; his learning was small, but the rectitude of his disposition 
and the kindness of his heart supplied the defects of education, and 
entitle him to a distinguished place among Russian sovereigns.” It 
was this prince who caused the Kremlin to be erected of stone, and 
dosed by a wall flanged with towers, which were defended by ditches 
surrounded with stone. 

Vassili or Basil II., who succeeded his father Dmitri in 1389, was 
also destined to see his country invaded by the Tartars under Tamer¬ 
lane; but they never reached the capital, for he prepared to give them 
battle near the river Oka, when they suddenly turned round and 
retired, as their countrymen had previously done on two other 
occasions. The Russians attributed this to a miracle performed by a 
picture of the Virgin Mary, said to have been painted by St. Luke. 
The barbarian horde, however, joined by the Lithuanians, afterward 
laid siege to Moscow,ffiut were repulsed by the inhabitants, the grand 
prince having retired with his family to Kostroma. Exasperated by 
this defeat, the Tartars in their retreat harassed the surrounding 
country, and slaughtered the defenceless peasantry. Money was first 
coined in Novgorod during this reign, its place having hitherto been 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA 


35 



Russian Peasant Girls 



























































































































































































































































































































































36 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA . 


supplied with skins and pieces of leather; twenty skins of the martin 
were considered as equivalent to a grivna, the value of which was a 
real pound of gold or silver, of nine and a quarter ounces in Kiev and 
thirteen in Novgorod. 

During the reign of Vassili, Kazan was taken from the Tartars, 
and Russia was thrice visited with the plague and famine, while the 
ancient city of Novgorod w T as shaken by an earthquake after the 
greater part of its buildings had been consumed by fire. Internal 
dissensions broke out on the death of Vassili, a dispute having arisen 
respecting the succession to the throne between the son of that monarch 
and his uncle George. This was, by the consent of both parties, left 
to the decision of the Khan of Tartary, who determined in favor of 
the former. Nevertheless, a civil war ensued, and George was for a 
short time in possession of the throne, when, finding himself aban¬ 
doned by his party and his family, he restored it to his nephew, and 
returned to his principality of Halitsch. 

Complicated wars, Russian and Tartar, now followed; the principal 
incident of which was that Ivan, the prince of Mojask, in the interest 
of the traitor -Chemiaka, induced Vassili to stop at the monastery of 
the Troitzkoi, to return thanks on his arrival from the Tartars, and, 
having seized him there, he took him to Moscow and put out his eyes. 
A few years after the prince of Mojask had committed this savage act, 
Vassili was restored to the throne, and died in 1462. The Tartars, 
under Makhmet, again possessed themselves of Kazan in this reign. 

Vassili II. was succeeded by Ivan III. The first exploit which the 
new monarch attempted was the reduction of the province of Kazan, 
in which he succeeded after two severe campaigns. The next was the 
subjection of Novgorod, in which he also succeeded, incorporating 
that city and province with his own dominions, and, having received 
the oaths of allegiance of the inhabitants, he carried off with him 
to Moscow their celebrated town-clock, which he suspended in a 
tower before the Kremlin, to be used only to call the people to their 
devotions. 

The next and most arduous undertaking was the destruction of the 
“Golden Horde,” under Achmet, which he effected in revenge for the 
insult offered by that Khan in demanding the homage which he had 
received from his predecessors. Ivan spat on the Edict and Achmet’s 
seal, and put his embassadors to death, sparing one only to convey the 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA. 


37 



2htelligence to his master, 
who prepared in the follow¬ 
ing year to take his revenge ; 
but, awed by the prepara¬ 
tions made to receive him 
on the banks of the Oka, 
he retired for a time, and 
subsequently took the more 
circuitous route through 
Lithuania, from which coun¬ 
try he expected support. The 
Russians, however, met and 
defeated a part of this horde, 
and were returning home, 
when the Khan was met on 
a different route by the 
Nogai Tartars, who routed 
his army and slew him in 
the battle. His ally, Casimir 
IV., also brought himseL 
under Ivan’s indignation, not only for this war, but because he 
attempted to poison him, and an incursion that he made into the 
territories of the Polish king was eminently successful. 

Ibis powerful and ambitious prince also made treaties with and 
received embassadors from the Pope, the Sultan, the kings of Denmark 
and Poland, and the republic of Venice. He assumed the title of 
“ Grand Prince of Novgorod, Vladimir, Moscow, and all Russia,” and 
changed the arms of St. George on horseback for the black eagle with 
two heads, after his marriage with Sophia, a princess of the imperial 
blood of Constantinople. In fact, Ivan III. may be called the true 
founder of the modern Russian Empire. Karamsin, the historian, 
thus describes him: “ Without being a tyrant like his grandson, he 
had received from nature a certain harshness of character, which he 
knew how to moderate by the strength of his reason. It is said, how¬ 
ever, that a single glance of Ivan, when he was excited with anger, 
would make a timid woman swoon; that petitioners dreaded to approach 
his throne; and that, even at his table, the boyars , his grandees, trembled 
before him”—which portrait does not bplie his own declaration, when 


The Russian Grand Duke Nicholas. 




38 


EARL Y HIS TOR Y OF RUSSIA. 


the same boyars demanded that he should give the crown to his 
grandson, Ivan, whom he had dispossessed in favor of a son by his 
second wife—“ I will give to Russia whomsoever I please!” He died, 
very infirm, in 1505, having reigned forty-three years. 

Wars between the Russians, the Poles, the Tartars, and the Nov- 
gorodians, again arose on the death of Ivan, and it was not till the 
death of Yassili IV., his successor, and a minority of twelve years had 
elapsed in the reign of Ivan IV., that internal cabals and intrigues 
were for a time suppressed. This monarch, the first to take the title 
of “ Czar” married Anastasia, the daughter of Roman Yuryvich, who 
in the early part of his reign had the happiest ascendency over a 
character naturally violent and cruel. Ivan was at this period affable 
and condescending, accessible to both rich and poor, and his mental 
powers under her guidance were employed in advancing the interests 
and happiness of his subjects. Ivan soon perceived that, to preserve 
his power, he must annihilate the Tartar dominion. To this he felt 
that his uninstructed army was unequal; he therefore established, in 
1545, the militia of the Strelitzes , and armed them with muskets 
instead of bows, hitherto their arms, as their name imports, from Strelai , 
“ an arrow.” He then laid siege to and captured Kazan, taking the 
Khan prisoner. He likewise defeated Gustavus Vasa, King of Sweden, 
in a pitched battle near Viborg; ravaged Livonia, taking Dorpat, 
Narva and thirty fortified towns; and made war on the King of 
Poland because he had refused him his daughter in marriage. An 
unsuccessful campaign against this potentate, attributed by the boyars 
to the unskilful arrangements of the foreign generals, as well as the 
death of his wife Anastasia, whose controlling influence was no longer 
felt, led to the unlimited indulgence of his naturally ferocious disposi¬ 
tion ; and the remaining acts of his life gained for him, in the history 
of his country, the surname of “ The Terrible.” Independently of the 
many and dreadful acts of barbarity of which he was guilty, he killed 
his own son in a paroxysm of rage, but died a prey to the grief and 
remorse which this fearful crime occasioned him, after having endeav¬ 
ored to atone for it by giving larga sums of money to different monas¬ 
teries. He received the tonsure in his last moments. 

As a legislator, Ivan IV. was superior to his predecessors, having, 
with the assistance of his nobles, compiled a code of laws called “Soude- 
brik.” In his reign an English ship, commanded by Richard Chan- 


EARL V HIS TOR V OF RUSSIA 


39 



A PEASANT CoUl’LE ON THE MARCH 





















































































































































































40 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA . 


cellor, on a voyage of discovery in the Arctic Sea, anchored in the 
mouth of the Dwina; and when the information of this circumstance 
was forwarded to Ivan, he invited Chancellor to Moscow, where, on his 
arrival, he was received with marked attention, and presented with a 
letter to carry back to his sovereign, Queen Elizabeth, expressing a 
desire to enter into commercial relations with England, and to have 
English artificers and workmen sent to him. It is curious that even 
at this early period the fair which he established at Narva was so 
glutted with English, Dutch, and French goods, that some of them 
were sold for less than the prime cost in their respective countries. 
Ivan controlled his religious prejudices, and tolerated the Lutheran 
churches of the German merchants at Moscow; but he never shook 
hands with a foreign ambassador without washing his own immediately 
after his visitor had taken his leave. With a character so strongly 
marked by cruelty, superstition and caprice, it is remarkable to find 
not only that he was enterprising and intelligent, but that he should 
ever have entertained the idea of placing the Scriptures in the hands 
of his subjects in the mother tongue; he did, however, order a transla¬ 
tion to be made of the Acts and Epistles, and had it disseminated over 
his dominions. 

“ In the memory of the people,” observes Karamsin, “ the brilliant 
renown of Ivan survived the recollection of his bad qualities. The 
groans had ceased, the victims were reduced to dust; new events caused 
ancient traditions to be forgotten; and the memory of this prince 
reminded people only of the conquest of three Mongol kingdoms. The 
proofs of his atrocious actions were buried in the public archives; while 
Kazan, Astrakhan, and Siberia remained in the eyes of the nation as 
imperishable monuments of his glory. The Russians, who saw in him 
the illustrious author of their power and civilization, rejected or forgot 
the surname of tyrant given him by his contemporaries. Under the 
influence of some confused recollections of his cruelty, they still call 
him Ivan 4 The Terrible,’ without distinguishing him from his grand¬ 
father, Ivan III., to whom Russia had given the same epithet rather in 
praise than in reproach. History does not pardon wicked princes so 
easily as do people.” 

Ivan IV. died in 1584, having governed the Russian nation for a 
longer period than any other sovereign, namely, fifty-one years. 

Feodor I., who ascended the throne after the death of Ivan IV., and 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA. 


41 


was a feeble and vacillating 
prince, died in 1598. His suc¬ 
cessor was Boris GodunofF, the 
brother of Anastasia, the Czar 
Ivan’s first wife, who, like the 
English Richard, compassed 
the death of his nephew Dmitri, 

Feodor’s younger brother, dur¬ 
ing that Czar’s lifetime; and 
therefore in Feodor ended the 
dynasty of Rurik, which during 
eight centuries had wielded the 
Russian sceptre. Consequent 
upon this deed came all kinds 
of civil calamities, and in 1604 
there arose a pretender to the 
throne in the person of a Rus¬ 
sian monk. This man assumed 

the character of the murdered 

_ . , Russia. 

Dmitri, and having drawn to 

his standard the Poles and the Cossacks of the Don, met Boris in 
the field, remained master of it, and in the space of one year seated 
himself on the throne. 

Nor w r as this civil war the only calamity which befell the Russians 
during the reign of Boris. Moscow was, in 1600, decimated by the 
most appalling famine that ever devastated the capital of a country. 
It is related that, driven by the pangs of hunger, instances oc¬ 
curred of mothers having first slain and then eaten their own 
children; and it is recorded that a woman, in her extremity, seized 
with her teeth the flesh of her son whom she carried in her arms. 
Others confessed that they had entrapped into their dwellings, and 
subsequently killed and eaten three men successively. One hundred 
and twenty-seven thousand corpses remained for some days in the 
streets unburied, and were afterwards interred in the fields, exclusive 
of those which had been previously buried in the four hundred churches 
of the city ! An eye-witness states that this awful visitation carried off 
five hundred thousand persons from this densely-peopled capital, the 
population of which was, at the time, augmented by the influx of stran- 



Cynrovitch—The Future Emperor of 



42 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA. 


gers. During this dreadful calamity, Boris, "with justifiable violence, 
brone open the granaries which avarice had closed, and had the grain 
sold at half its value. 

Interminable and inexplicable troubles, a second false Dmitri, and 
other impostors, led to the occupation of Moscow by the Poles in 1610, 
who entered the city with Vladislaus, son of Sigismund, King of Poland, 
elected to the throne by the boyars, on condition that he should embrace 
the Greek religion. This gave great offence to the national feeling, 
and Minim, a citizen of Nijnei-Novgorod, called his countrymen to 
arms, and entreated the general Pojarski to take the command. This 
he did without reluctance, and his army was quickly increased by 
the arrival of troops and money from various towns, and by the Cos¬ 
sacks and Strelitzes who flocked to his banner. Thus reinforced, they 
marched to Yaroslav, and afterwards to Moscow, to which they laid 
siege, carried the Kitai Gorod by assault, and made a fearful slaughter 
of the Poles; when the inhabitants, driven to the last extremity by 
famine, surrendered, and Vladislaus abandoned the country. A fine 
monument was erected in the open space, under the Kremlin walls, in 
1818, to the memory of Minim and Pojarski. It represents the high- 
spirited citizen of Nijnei calling on his countrymen to rid Russia of the 
foreign enemy, while Pojarski listens attentively to the stirring exhorta¬ 
tion. 

With a vacant throne, and unembarrassed by republican feelings, 
the boyars , after the flight of Vladislaus, proceeded to elect as their 
czar Michael Romanoff, the son of the metropolitan of Rostof, who 
was at the time only sixteen years of age; and from him is descended 
the present imperial family. The usual routine of civil strife and 
foreign wars continued after the accession of Romanoff; and that in 
which the Czar was involved with Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, 
was terminated, not much to the advantage of Russia, through the 
mediation of England, France, and Holland. A treaty was signed by 
the belligerent parties on the 26th of January, 1616, which gave to 
Sweden Ingria, Carelia, Livonia, and Esthonia, the Russians retaining 
Novgorod; and these terms seem to have been dictated by the Czar’s 
love of peace. The Poles were at this time masters of Smolensk, and 
ravaged the country up to the walls of Moscow, against which they 
made a night attack, but were repulsed; they remained, however, in 
possession of Smolensk, after sustaining a siege of two years. Dra- 


EARL Y HI ST OR Y OF RUSSIA. 


43 



goons are mentioned, for the first time in this reign, as forming part 
of a Russian army, and the Czar was assisted in his wars by both Ger¬ 
man and French troops; these regiments served him as models for the 
organization of the Russian army, which was further improved by the 
discipline introduced by the foreign officers in Romanoff’s pay. 


















44 


EARLY HISTORY OF RUSSIA. 


The Czar died in July, 1645, and was succeeded by his son Alexis. , 
The chief events of his reign were, the marauding expeditions of the 
Cossacks of the Don; a rebellion in the city of Astrakhan; and the j 
appearance of another false Dmitri. In this reign shipwrights came 
over from Holland and England, and a Dutchman named Butler 
built a vessel called the Eagle, at DidilofF, the first ship that the 
Russians had seen built on scientific principles. 

Alexis died in 1676, and was succeeded by his son Feodor III., who 
died young, in 1682. During the exercise of his power, he evinced 
every disposition to carry out his father’s plans. He directed his 
attention to the improvement of the laws, and rendered justice acces¬ 
sible to all, and in the words of a Russian historian, “ lived the joy 
and delight of his people, and died amid their sighs and tears. On 
the day of his death, Moscow was in the same distress that Rome was 
on the death of Titus.” The sovereignty of the Cossacks was secured ^ 
to Russia in this reign. Feodor was succeeded by his half-brother 
Peter, who, some accounts say, was named by him as his successor. 



Cossacks on the March. 









PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS . 


45 


CHAPTER II. 

PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 

The succession of Peter to the throne of the Empire was by no means 
pleasing to the majority of the Russian nobles, and it was particularly 
opposed by Prince Galitzin, the prime minister of the late Czar. This 
able man had espoused the interests of Sophia (the sister of Feodor III. 
and Ivan, and half-sister of Peter), a young woman of eminent abilities 
and insinuating address. Sophia, upon the pretence of asserting the 
claims of her brother Ivan, who, though of a feeble constitution and 
weak intellect, was considered as the lawful heir to the crown, had 
really formed a design of securing the succession to herself; and with 
that view, had not only insinuated herself into the confidence and good 
graces of Galitzin, but had brought over to her interests the Strelitzes. 
These turbulent and licentious soldiers assembled ostensibly for the 
purpose of placing on the throne Prince Ivan, whom they proclaimed 
Czar by acclamation. During three days these Russian Janizaries 
roved about the city of Moscow, committing the greatest excesses, and 
putting to death several of the chief officers of State who were sus¬ 
pected of being hostile to the designs of Sophia. The princess did not, 
however, entirely gain her point, for, as the new Czar entertained a 
sincere affection for Peter (who, as already seen, was only his half- 
brother), he insisted that this prince should share with him the impe¬ 
rial dignity. This was at length agreed to; and on the 6th of May, 
1682, Ivan and Peter were solemnly crowned Joint Emperors of all 
the Russias, while the Princess Sophia was nominated their copartner 
in the government. 

From the imbecility of Ivan and the youth of Peter (now only ten 
years of age) the whole power of the government in fact rested on 
Sophia and her minister Galitzin, though until the year 1687 the 
names of Ivan and Peter only were annexed to the imperial decrees. 
Sophia had scarcely established her authority, when she was threatened 
with deposition, from an alarming insurrection of the Strelitzes. This 
was excited by their commander, Prince Kovanskoi, who, demanding 
of Sophia that she would marry one of her sisters to his son. met with 




46 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


a refusal. In consequence of this insurrection, which threw the whole 
city of Moscow into terror and consternation, Sophia and the two 
young Czars took refuge in a monastery, about twelve leagues from 
the capital; and, before the Strelitzes could follow them thither, a 
considerable body of soldiers, principally foreigners, was assembled in 
their defence. Kovanskoi was taken prisoner, and instantly beheaded; 
and, though his followers at first threatened dreadful vengeance on his 
executioners, they soon found themselves obliged to submit, when the 
most guilty among the ringleaders suffered death. 

The quelling of these disturbances gave opportunity to the friends 
of Peter to pursue the plans which they had formed for subverting the 
authority of Sophia; and their designs were favored by a rupture with 
Turkey. The Ottoman Porte was now engaged with Poland and the 
German Empire, and both the latter powers had solicited the assist¬ 
ance of Russia against the common enemy. Sophia and her party were 
averse to the alliance; but as the secret friends of Peter had sufficient 
influence to persuade the majority that a Turkish war would be of 
advantage to the State, they even prevailed on Galitzin to put himself 
at the head of the army, and thus removed their principal opponent. 
Assembling an army of nearly three hundred thousand men, he ad¬ 
vanced to the confines of Turkey, and here consumed two campaigns 
in marches and countermarches, and lost nearly forty thousand men, 
partly in unsuccessful skirmishes with the enemy, but chiefly from 
disease. 

While Galitzin was thus trifling away his time in the South, Peter, 
who already began to give proofs of those great talents which after¬ 
ward enabled him to act so conspicuous a part in the theatre of the 
North, was strengthening his party among the Russian nobles. His 
ordinary residence was at a village not far from Moscow, and here he 
had assembled round him a considerable number of young men of rank 
and influence, whom he called his playmates. Under the appearance 
of a military game, Peter was secretly establishing himself in the affec¬ 
tions of his young companions; and he contrived effectually to lull the 
suspicions of Sophia, till it was too late for her to oppose his machina¬ 
tions. 

In the year 1689, Peter, who had now attained his seventeenth year, 
determined to make an effort to deprive Sophia of all share in the 
government, and thus secure to himself the undivided sovereignty. 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


47 



The Representatives of the Russian Government at Constantinople. 


An open rupture soon took place, and Sophia, finding that she could 
not openly oppose the party of the Czar, attempted to procure his 
assassination; but her design was discovered, and an accommodation 
"was agreed to, on condition that she would give up all claim to the 
regency and retire to a nunnery. She was consequently incarcerated 
in a monastery for the rest of her life. The princess was, considering 
the times in which she lived, a woman of extraordinary taste and 
literary attainments. A tragedy, written by her when she was in¬ 
volved in State intrigues, and apparently absorbed in political turmoil, 
is still preserved. The commander of the Strelitzes, who was to have 
been her agent in the assassination of Peter, was beheaded, and minis¬ 
ter Galitzin sent into banishment to Archangel. Peter had now 
obtained the wished-for possession of the imperial throne; for though 
Ivan was still nominally Czar, he had voluntarily resigned all partici- 







































































































48 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


pation in the administration of affairs, and retired to a life of obscurity. 
He survived until 1696. 

The ruling passion of Peter the Great was a desire to extend his 
empire and consolidate his power; and accordingly his first act was to 
make war on the Turks, an undertaking which was at the outset im¬ 
prudently conducted, and consequently unsuccessful. He lost thirty 
thousand men before Azov, and did not obtain permanent possession 
of the town until the year 1699, and then by an armistice. In the 
following year he was defeated in his intrenched camp at Narva, con¬ 
taining eighty thousand men, by eight thousand Swedes under Charles 
XII., then only a boy of seventeen; and on many other occasions the 
Russians suffered severe checks and reverses. But at length the in¬ 
domitable perseverance of Peter prevailed. In 1705 he carried Narva, 
the scene of his former defeat, by assault; and two years after, by the 
crowning victory of Poltava, where he showed the qualities of an able 
general, he sealed the fate of his gallant and eccentric adversary and 
the nation over which he ruled. 

In 1711 Peter once more took the field against the Turks; but his 
troops were badly provisioned, and having led them into a very 
disadvantageous position, where they were surrounded by the Grand 
Vizier’s army, he was only enabled, by a present of his consort’s 
jewels to the Turkish commander, to negotiate a humiliating peace, 
one of the conditions of which was that the King of Sweden, then 
a fugitive in Turkey, should be permitted to return to his own 
country. 

From this period to 1718 Peter was constantly occupied in pursuing 
with vigor the plans which he had originated for extending the fron¬ 
tiers of his kingdom toward the west. In the latter year he drove the 
Swedes out of Finland, made several descents upon the coast near 
Stockholm, destroyed whole towns, obliged her navy to fly, and finally, 
in 1721, by the peace of Nystadt, retained Esthonia, Livonia, Ingria, 
a part of Carelia and Finland, as well as the islands of Dago, Moen, 
CEsel, etc. 

Having now no enemy on the side of the Baltic, Peter turned his 
arms eastward, and took Derbend, on the Caspian, from the Shah of 
Persia, in 1724—an inglorious conquest, for onlysix thousand Persians 
were opposed to his veteran army of eleven thousand, besides Kalmucks 
and Cossacks. This was his last miliary achievement, for he died in 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS . 


49 



The Emperor of Russia Driving on the Nevski Prospect, 
St. Petersburg. 


1725 (of a cold contracted in attempting to rescue some shipwrecked 
sailors near Kronstadt), in the fifty-second year of his age. His latter 
years were clouded by domestic infelicity; his second wife, Catherine, 
■was more than suspected of being unfaithful to him; and his son Alexis 
was disobedient. The former he spared ; the latter he brought to trial, 
and is believed to have put to death in prison—some accounts affirm, 
with his own hand. 

We have said that the Czar’s ruling passion was to extend his Empire 
and consolidate his power; but he likewise possessed in an eminent 
degree the national characteristics—a persevering mind and a resolute 
will, which bid defiance to all difficulties. By the assistance of his 
4 



















50 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 




foreign officers, he succeeded in forming and bringing into a high state 
of discipline a large army; he found Russia without a fishing-smack, 
and bequeathed to her a navy to which that of Sweden, long established 
and highly efficient, lowered her flag; he built St. Petersburg, which 
may be said to float upon the waters of the Neva; he caused canals 
and other public works of utility to be constructed in various parts of 
his empire; endowed colleges and universities, and established com¬ 
mercial relations with China and almost every other nation on the 
globe. The Czar likewise possessed the capability of enduring priva¬ 
tion and bodily fatigue to an almost incredible extent, and seemed to act 
upon che idea that, by his own personal exertions and the versatility 
of his genius, he could accomplish for Russia that which it had taken 
centuries to effect in other countries, and fancied that he could infuse 
into her citizens an immediate appreciation of the mechanical and 
polite arts, as well as a taste for those things which are seen only in an 
advanced stage of civilization. Peter devoted his whole attention and 
energies to this theory; and though he could not compass impossibili¬ 
ties, he was enabled, by the uncontrolled exercise of the imperial will 
and inexhaustible resources, to effect a most extraordinary and rapid 
change in the political and physical condition of his country. 

His manual dexterity and mechanical knowledge was great. Against 
the expressed wish of his boyars and the clergy, who thought it an 
irreligious act, he left Russia to make himself acquainted with the arts 
and inventions of other European nations, and worked with an adze in 
the principal dockyards of Holland ; he not only built, but sailed his 
own boat, which is still to be seen in St. Petersburg, as are specimens 
of his engraving, turning, and carpenters’ work. He rose at four 
o’clock in summer; at six he was either in the Senate or the Admiralty; 
and his subjects must have believed that he had the gift of ubiquity, so 
many and so various were his occupations. Pie had also the virtue of 
economy, a quality rarely seen in a sovereign. He even found time to 
dabble in literature, and translated several works into Russian ; among 
these were the “ Architecture” of Le Clerc, and the “ Art of Construct¬ 
ing Dams and Mills,” by Sturm. These manuscripts are still pre¬ 
served. 

During the Czar’s visit to London, he was much gazed at by the 
populace, and on one occasion was upset by a porter who pushed against 
him with his load ; when Lord Carmarthen, fearing there would ,be a 


PETER THE CREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


51 



Ceremonies of Blessing the Neva, at St. Petersburg. 


pugilistic encounter, turned angrily to the man and said, “ Don’t you 
know that this is the Czar?” “ Czar!” replied the sturdy porter, with 
his tongue in his cheek, “ we are all Czars here!” Sauntering one day 
,into Westminster Hall with the same nobleman, when it was, as usual, 
alive with wigs and gowns, Peter asked who these people might be; 
and when informed that they were lawyers, nothing could exceed his 
astonishment. “ Lawyers!” he said; “ why I have but two in all my 
dominions, and I believe I shall hang one of them the moment I get 
home!” 

The vices of Peter were such as might have been expected in a man 
of his violent temperament, despotic in a barbarous country, and v T ho 
in early life had been surrounded by flatterers and dissolute associates. 
But it would be foreign to the purpose of this work to enter into a 
discussion of this nature. The Kussians date their civilization from 
his reign ; but a slight glance at the history of some of the early Czars 
will show that, in many of the points on which the greatness of his 
reputation rests, he was anticipated by his predecessors. Dark and 






























52 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


savage as the early history of the country is, an attempt at public 
education had been made, religious toleration and an anxiety to pro- : 
mote commerce existed, and the institution of a code of laws had 
already occupied their attention. The untimely death of some of 
these princes deprived Russia of monarchs far more benevolent than 
Peter—men of finer and more generous minds, and though not so am¬ 
bitious, quite as anxious for her welfare. Under their sway no such 
rush at improvements would have been made; no such influx of for¬ 
eigners would have taken place; but, if not so rapidly, at least as 
surely these sovereigns would have effected quite as much real good. 
Peter left no code of laws established on the broad principles of justice; 
he travelled in England and Holland, but thought only of their navies, 
and wholly overlooked the great principles of their governments, by 
which he might have ameliorated the condition of his own. Trial by 
jury never appears to have attracted his attention. The Czar, it is 
true, reigned over a nation of serfs—so did Alfred the Great of Eng¬ 
land, and in the ninth instead of the eighteenth century. 

Peter was succeeded by his consort Catherine, in whose favor he 
had, some years before his death, altered the order of succession. She 
was the illegitimate daughter of a Livonian peasant. After some j 
years spent in the service of a clergyman, she married a Swedish : 
dragoon, who shortly afterward went on an expedition and never 
returned. She then resided, it is doubtful whether as servant or 
paramour, with the Russian General Bauer, when Prince Menchikoff 
became enamored of her charms, and made her his mistress. Peter 
the Great now distinguished her by his notice, and she became at first 
his mistress and afterward his Empress. 

Catharine I. conducted herself with great gentleness and prudence 
in the administration of the government. She reduced the annual 
capitation tax; recalled the greater part of those whom Peter had 
exiled to Siberia; caused every gallows to be taken down, and all 
instruments of torture destroyed; paid the troops their arrears, and ; 
restored to the Cossacks their privileges and immunities, of which - 
they had been deprived during the late reign. She concluded a I 
treaty of alliance with the German Emperor, by which it was 
stipulated that, in case of attack from an enemy, either party should 
assist the other with a force of thirty thousand men, and should 
each guarantee the possessions of the other. In her brief reign the 



PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


53 


I 



The Great Bell at Moscow, or the Tsar Kolvkol. 


. boundaries of the Empire were extended in the Trans-Caucasus. 
Catherine also founded the Academy of Sciences. Her indulgence in 
the use of intoxicating liquors produced a disease of which she died 
on the 17th of May, 1727, at the age of forty-one, having reigned 
only about two years. 

Catherine settled the crown on Peter, the son of Alexis, and 
grandson of Peter the Great by his first wife, Eudoxia, and who 
succeeded by the title of Peter II. This Prince was only twelve 











































































54 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 

years of age when he succeeded to the imperial throne, and his reign 
was short and uninteresting. He was influenced chiefly by Prince 
Menchikoff, whose daughter Catherine had decreed him to marry. 
This ambitious man, who, from a very mean condition, had risen to 
the first oflices of the state under Peter the Great, and had, under 
Catherine, conducted the administration of the government, was now, 
however, drawing toward the end of his career. The number of his 
enemies had greatly increased, and their machinations succeeded so 
well that Menchikoff and his whole family were banished to Siberia. 

The artful counsellors of the young monarch, instead of cultivating 
his naturally good abilities, encouraged him to waste his time and 
qxhaust his strength in hunting and other athletic exercises; and it is 
supposed that the debility consequent on such fatigue increased the 
danger of the small-pox, with which he was attacked in January, 
1730, and of which he died, at the age of only fifteen years. 

Notwithstanding the absolute power with which Peter the Great 
and Catherine I. had settled by will the succession to the throne the 
Russian senate and nobility, upon the death of Peter II., ventured to 
set aside the order of succession which these sovereigns had estab¬ 
lished. The male issue of Peter was extinct; and the Duke of 
Holstein (of Denmark), son of Peter’s eldest daughter, was, by the 
destination of the late Empress, entitled to the crown; but the Rus¬ 
sians, for political reasons, chose Anne, Duchess of Courland, second 
daughter of Ivan, Peter’s half-brother; thus excluding her eldest 
sister, who was still living, because, as Duchess of Mecklenburg, she 
was allied to one of the royal houses of Germany. 

In 1735, a rupture took place between Russia and Turkey, occa¬ 
sioned partly by the mutual jealousies that had subsisted between 
these powers ever since the treaty on the Pruth, and partly by the 
depredations of the Tartars of the Crimea, then under the dominion 
of the Porte. A Russian army entered the Crimea, ravaged part of 
the country, and killed a considerable number of Tartars; but having 
ventured too far, without a sufficient supply of provisions, was obliged 
to retreat, after sustaining a loss of nearly ten thousand men. This 
misfortune did not discourage the Court of St. Petersburg, and, in the 
following year, another armament was sent into the Ukraine, under 
the command of Marshal Munich, while a second army, under Lascy, 
proceeded against Azov. Both these generals met with considerable 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS . 


55 


success; the Tartars were defeated, and the fortress of Azov once more 
submitted to the Rus ian arms. A third campaign took place in 
1737, when the Russians were assisted by a body of Austrian troops. 
Munich laid seige to Otchakov, which surrendered, while Lascy deso¬ 
lated the Crimea. No material advantages were, however, gained on 
either side, and disputes arose between the Austrian and Russian 
generals. At length, in 1739, Marshal Munich, having crossed the 
Boug at the head of a considerable army, defeated the Turks in a 
pitched battle near Stavutshain, made himself master of Jassy, the 
capital of Moldavia, and, before the end of the campaign, reduced the 
whole of that province to subjection. These successes of the Russian 
arms induced the Porte to propose terms of accommodation; but 
when, in the latter end of 1739, a treaty was concluded, Russia (prob¬ 
ably through the influence of Austrian intrigue; again relinquished 
Azov and Moldavia, and only gained permission to build a fortress on 
the Don. 

The Empress Anne rendered herself memorable by the decisive 
turn she gave to the contests which arose in Central Europe. She 
assisted the Emperor Charles VI. of Germany; frustrated the schemes 
of the French ministry for placing Stanislaus on the throne of Poland, 
and actually procured the crown for his competitor Augustus, the 
elector of Saxony. Her chief merit, however, was in advancing the 
commerce of the country, and establishing silk and woolen manu¬ 
factures ; her chief folly, the building a palace of ice, to which she 
sent a Prince Galitzin, one of her buffoons, and his wife, to pass the 
night of their wedding-day; the nuptial couch was also constructed of 
this cold material, as well as all the furniture, and four cannons 
which fired several rounds. 

Anne died in 1740, after a reign of ten years, and was succeeded by 
her great-nephew, Ivan VI., when only two years of age. He was the 
son of the Princess Anne of Mecklenburg, the daughter of her eldest 
sister, who had married Prince Anthony Ulric of Brunswick-Beveren. 
The administration of the Princess Anne and her husband, in the 
name of their son, the infant Czar, was upon many accounts unpopu¬ 
lar, not only among the Russians, but with other Powers of Europe; 
and notwithstanding a successful war which they carried on with the 
Swedes, the Princess Elizabeth Petrowna, daughter of Peter the Great 
by the Empress Catherine, and born in 1709, formed a respectable 


56 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 



Russian System of Feeding Soldiers in Line. 

party in her favor, by whom she was raised to the imperial dignity in 
December, 1741. 

The Princess of Mecklenburg, her husband, and son, were made 
prisoners, and the two former sent into banishment, to an island at the 
mouth of the Dwina, in the White Sea, where the Princess Anne died 
in child-bed in 1747. Ivan was for some time shut up in a monastery 
at Oranienburg; and in attempting to escape, he was removed to the 
Castle of Schlusselburg, where he was afterward cruelly put to death. 

The war which had commenced between Russia and Sweden during 
the short regency of Anne of Mecklenburg, was now carried on with 
vigor and success by Elizabeth. The Russian forces took possession 
of Abo, and made themselves masters of the greater part of Finland. 
At length, in consequence of the negotiations that were carrying on 
relative to the succession of the Swedish crown, a peace w T as concluded 
between the two Powers, in 1743, on condition that Elizabeth should 
restore the conquered part of Finland. On the eastern frontier of the 
Empire, however, the Russian arms were less successful, several of the 


























PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 57 

provinces wrested from Persia by Peter the Great having been recon¬ 
quered by Nadir Kouli Khan. 

Soon after her accession, Elizabeth determined to nominate her suc¬ 
cessor to the imperial throne, and had fixed on Charles Peter Ulric. 
son of the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, by Anne, daughter of Peter the 
Great. This Prince was accordingly invited into Russia, persuaded to 
become a member of the Greek Church, and proclaimed Grand Duke 
of Russia, and heir of the Empire. 

Elizabeth now began to take an active part in the politics of Europe. 
The death of Charles VI., Emperor of Germany, had left his daughter 
Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary, at the mercy of the enterprising 
King of Prussia, Frederick the Great (who immediately began the 
“ Seven Years’ War,” by seizing the province of Silesia from the House 
of Austria), until a formidable party, more from jealousy at that 
monarch’s military fame, than regard to the interests of an injured 
princess, was formed in her behalf. Frederick, whose sarcastic wit 
spared no one, having satirized in some verses Madame de Pompadour, 
the powerful and vindictive mistress of Louis XV., the French monarch 
at once espoused the cause of Austria; and it is remarkable that, from 
a like trivial cause, the Prussian king brought upon himself the ven¬ 
geance of Elizabeth. Detesting Frederick for some coarse but truth¬ 
ful remark leveled at her mother, she made war on Prussia, which 
was conducted with great ferocity. Such was the mutual hatred ex¬ 
cited by this contest, that after a battle the wounded soldiers of the 
two nations were seen tearing each other’s flesh with their hands and 
teeth, even in the agonies of death; and Marshal Munich declared, in 
transmitting to the Empress an account of a victory which he gained, 
but with the loss of half his army: “ If I gain another such victory, 

I shall be compelled to go myself, on foot and alone, to St. Petersburg, 
to inform your Majesty of the result!” Elizabeth persisted, however, 
in prosecuting the war; and was on the point of crushing the Prussian 
monarch, and possessing herself of his most valuable territories,- when 
death suddenly closed her career, on the 5th of January, 1762, at the 
age of fifty-three, and in the twenty-first year of her reign. 

The taste of this Empress for architecture greatly contributed to 
embellish St. Petersburg, and the Academy of Painting and Sculpture 
in that capital was instituted by her. She was, however, a model of 
dissimulation and hypocrisy; and while from feelings of pretended 






58 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS . 


humanity she abolished capital punishment, and deplored the miseries 
her troops suffered in the war with Prussia, she established a kind of 
star-chamber, in which justice and mercy were unknown. That her 
humanity was equivocal, is instanced in the shocking punishment which 
she inflicted upon the Countess Bestucheff and Lapookin, who were 
publicly knouted, and had their tongues cut out, for betraying some 
secrets relating to the amours of the Empress. 

On the death of Elizabeth, her nephew, the Grand Duke Charles 
Peter Ulric, ascended the throne, by the name of Peter III. This 
prince entered on the government possessed of an enthusiastic admira¬ 
tion of the virtues of the King of Prussia, with whom he immediately 
made peace, and whose principles and practice he seems to have 
adopted as patterns for his imitation. Several wise decrees were 
passed by him; he suppressed the secret council established for the 
examination of political offenders, softened the rigor of military disci¬ 
pline, permitted his nobles to travel, lowered the duties in the Livonian 
ports, reduced the price of salt, abated the pressure of usury by the 
establishment of a loan-bank, and instituted other salutary measures. 
He might have surmounted the effects even of those peculiarities which 
were unpopular in Russia; but it is said that he aimed at reformations 
in his dominions which even Peter the Great durst not carry through; 
among which was his attempt at cutting off the venerable beards of 
his clergy, and his abolition of some established and favorite military 
fashions. He was, however, so weak and vacillating in his disposition 
that he had no opinions of his own, but childishly adopted the senti¬ 
ments of any person who took the trouble to teach him. His tastes 
were, moreover, entirely German, which amounted to a crime in the 
eyes of the nobility. His chief amusement was buffoonery; and as he 
was a comparative stranger to the country, its inhabitants, and their 
manners, he is said to have suffered himself to be persuaded by those 
about him that the Russians were fools and beasts unworthy of his 
attention, except to make them, by means of the Prussian discipline, 
good fighting-machines. These sentiments regulated his whole con¬ 
duct, and prepared the way for the revolution which afterwards 
dethroned him. 

Peter was married, in 1745, to the German Princess Catharine, born 
in 1729, and daughter to the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst. In addition to 
his other great faults, Peter was addicted to low society and to the 




PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS . 


59 



The Grand Duke and Military Officers of the Russian Army at 


St. Petersburg. 






























































60 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


most scandalous excesses; and Catherine, even in her youth, was by 
no means remarkable for chastity. With the inconsistency usually 
observable in such cases, each party reproached the other; Catherine, 
stung by her husband’s brutality, became still more openly indecorous 
in her conduct, and Peter indulged in low wassail to such an extent 
that he must have been deranged. The Empress, who was as talented 
as she was ambitious, took every means in her power to secure the 
good-will of her Russian subjects. She engaged in her party many of 
the principal families, and what Peter lost in popularity was gained by 
the emissaries of Catherine. While the latter, in spite of her intrigues, 
was thus high in public esteem and affection, Peter became so infatu¬ 
ated by his disgust for Catherine and his son, and his passion for oue 
of his mistresses, the Countess Woronzow, that he determined to divorce 
and imprison the former, and make the latter his Empress. Catherine 
saw her danger, and instantly formed her resolution, foreseeing that 
she must either submit to perpetual imprisonment, and perhaps a cruel 
and ignominious death, or contrive to hurl her husband from the throne. 
The proper steps to carry out her design were immediately taken ; folly 
and imbecility fell before ability and address; and in three days the 
revolution was accomplished. Peter was seized and sent as a prisoner 
to the small palace of Ropscha, about twenty miles from St. Peters¬ 
burg ; but as there were many who were dissatisfied with the new order 
of things,it was soon found that there was little chance of tranquility 
while he lived. His death was therefore determined on; and at the 
connivance, if not at the positive command of the Empress, the un¬ 
fortunate monarch was assassinated by the hand of his chief favorite, 
Prince Alexis Orlaff, in the thirty-fourth year of his age, after having 
enjoyed the imperial dignity only six months. This tragic event 
occurred in July, 1762, and iu the next month the Czarina was solemnly 
crowned Empress of all the Russias, under the name of Catherine II. 

The reign of this extraordinary woman is one of the most remarkable 
in Russian history. In the early part of it she interfered in the affairs 
of Poland, which produced a civil war, and terminated eventually in 
the partition and conquest of that unfortunate country. In 1769 the 
Turks declared Avar against Russia, Avhich Avas at first favorable to their 
arms; but they were afterward defeated with great slaughter on the 
Dniester, and compelled to abandon Choczim. At this period was 
fought the celebrated action before Tchesme, in which the Turkish fleet 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


61 



A Review of Russian Troops. 


was completely destroyed; an achievement that was mainly owing to 
the gallant conduct of Admirals Elphinstone and Greig, and Lieutenant 
Dugdale, Englishmen in the Russian service. 

In a succeeding campaign, the Russians carried the lines of Perecop, 
in the Crimea, defended by nearly sixty thousand Turks and Tartars, 

! and thus wrested that important and fertile peninsula from the Porte, 
while RomanzofF gained several victories in the Danubian provinces. 
These conquests were, however, dearly purchased. The plague passed 
I from the Turkish into the Russian armies, and the frightful malady 
was carried by the troops into the very heart of the country; eight 
hundred persons died daily at Moscow, and the disease subsided only 
with the severity of the ensuing winter. 

It was at this period that the Calmuck Tartars (as alluded to in a 
previous chapter), who had been for upwards of half a century settled 


























62 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


near the Steppes of the Volga, north of Astrakhan, suddenly, and to 
the number of half a million of souls, left the Russian territory for 
their old haunts on the Chinese borders an affront offered to them by 
the Empress having been said to be the cause of this extraordinary 
flight. 

Every attempt at negotiation having failed, the contest with the 
Turks was renewed in 1773; and although the Russians again suffered 
severe losses, Romanzoff brought the war to a successful termination. 
By the treaty of peace concluded in the following year, his country 
obtained the free navigation of the Black Sea, the cession of Kilburne 
and Enikaleh, together with a tract between the Boug and the Dnieper, 
and also the town of Taganrog on the Sea of Azov. Russia restored 
her other conquests, and the Turks paid into the Russian treasury four 
millions of roubles toward the expenses of the war; they also acknow¬ 
ledged the independence of the Crimea, which in the year 1784 fell 
altogether into the hands of Russia, as well as the island of Taman, 
and part of the Kouban in the Caucasus. 

Shortly after this, Catherine and the northern courts, in conjunction 
with France, jealous of the British maritime power, brought about a 
combination against England, which was hastened by the following 
singular incident: The British minister, suspecting that this intrigue 
was going on, desired Potemkin to lay before the Empress a memorial 
that he had drawn up, which the prince promised to do. Of this 
memorial the French governess of his nieces contrived to possess herself, 
and after allowing the French minister to make his notes in refutation 
of it in the margin, replaced it in Potemkin’s pocket, who, ignorant of 
the circumstance, laid it before Catherine; when the empress, conceiv¬ 
ing the notes to have been made by her favorite, formed a league with 
Sweden and Denmark, and announced her intention of supporting it 
with her navy. 

In 1787 Catherine made, in company with Potemkin and an immense 
suite, her famous triumphal progress to the Crimea, and the following 
year found her once more at war with the Turks. Soon after, Gus- | 
tavus III. of Sweden, seizing this favorable opportunity, invaded the 
Russian territories; this contest, however, produced no decisive results, 
and was settled by a pacification in 1790. In the close of that year, 
Constantinople trembled at the former movement of the Russians; and 
the fall of Ismail, under Suwarrow, after the ninth assault, closed the 






PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS . 


63 


war on the 22d of December. In this extremity, the Western Powers 
of Europe combined to save the Porte from destruction; and in 1791 
Russia was forced to relinquish all the territory she had acquired, ex¬ 
cepting that guaranteed by the treaty of 1784. In the various wars in 
which Russia had been engaged with the Ottoman Empire down to the 
period here treated of, it is computed that there were destroyed 130,000 
Austrians, 370,000 Turks, and 200,000 Russians; in all, 700,000 men! 

About this time the intrigues of Russia, Austria and Prussia, for 
the partition of Poland, commenced and, carried on for several years, 
were brought to a conclusion by two sieges of Warsaw; in the first, 
Kosciusko was made prisoner; and in the second the Poles, unassisted 
by his genius, gave way in that fearful assault which, on the 9th of 
November, 1794, consummated the ruin of Poland as a nation. In 

1795, by the third partition of that unhappy kingdom, Russia ex¬ 
tended her power toward the west as far as the Vistula. Catherine’s 
subsequent plans of aggrandizement in Daghestan and on the shores 
of the Caspian were cut short by her death, on the 9th of November, 

1796, in the sixty-eighth year of her age, and the thirty-fifth of her 
reign. 

Ill as her power was obtained, Catherine used it wisely and well. 
The great talents for governing which she possessed are universally 
admitted ; and, though her energies were principally displayed in 
carrying out her schemes of foreign conquest, she by no means neg¬ 
lected the internal affairs of her Empire. Her views on all subjects 
were far more enlarged than those of her predecessors, and nearly seven 
thousand children were educated at St. Petersburg at the public expense. 
Catherine visited Pallas, Euler and Gmelin, to survey her territories 
and describe their characteristics, and requested D’Alembert to under¬ 
take the education of her grandson, the Grand Duke Alexander, 
which, however, he declined. The Empress also confirmed the aboli¬ 
tion of the secret state inquisition, and, by dividing the College of the 
Empire into separate departments, facilitated the despatch of business, 
and rendered the administration in each more efficient. She founded 
schools and towns, encouraged foreign artisans and workmen of all 
kinds to settle in her dominions, and projected and completed public 
works of equal magnificence and utility. With a view to check 
corruption, she raised the salaries of the government officers, abolished 
many monopolies of the crown, and issued a ukase which prevented 


64 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS . 


any proprietor from sending his serfs to the mines, or to any distant 
part of the Empire, except for agricultural purposes. But her amours 
in the meantime injured her as a woman, and her tyrannous conduct 
toward Poland is a foul blot upon her escutcheon as a sovereign. 
Ambition, however, and lack of female virtues, did not wholly degrade 
her, for, as already showrn, her internal policy was as much directed to 
the useful as to the grand; and, amid all the distraction of business 
and voluptuous dissipation, she found time to encourage literature. 
Indeed, she was herself the author of instructions for a code of laws,, 
which she translated into German; and she wrote several dramatic 
pieces, and some moral tales for the use of children. Possessed of 
great beauty in her youth, Catherine preserved the traces of it to the 
end of her life. She purchased the praises of the French philoso¬ 
phers, corresponded with Voltaire and D’Alembert, and complimented 
Charles James Fox, the great English orator, by asking him for his 
bust, which she placed between those of Demosthenes and Cicero. 
Some letters written by Frederick the Great to Peter III., found after 
his decease, which strongly recommended to him a change of conduct, 
and particularly pleaded in behalf of his repudiated consort, fixed 
Catherine throughout her reign in the friendship and policy of the 
Russian monarch. In matters of religion, she was tolerant from 
political motives, extravagant in au extraordinary degree, and, with a 
woman’s liberality, paid well those who served her; and, though there 
are many acts in her reign which cannot be defended, she did more 
for the civilization of Russia than any of her predecessors. 

Catherine II. was succeeded by her son, the Grand Duke Paul, who 
ascended the throne under the title of Paul I. This Prince had 
attained his forty-second year before the death of his mother placed 
him on the imperial throne. For many years he had lived in a state 
of retirement, and had apparently been considered by the Empress as 
incapable of taking any active part in the administration of affairs. 
It is well known that Catherine never admitted him to any participa¬ 
tion of power, and even kept him in complete ignorance of the affair? 
of the Empire. On the day following the death of his mother, 
however, Paul made his public entry into St. Petersburg, amid the 
acclamations of all ranks of the people. 

At his coronation, Paul decreed a law of hereditary succession to the 
crown in the male line, and afterward in the female, instead of leaving 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


65 



Field Battery of the Russians on the River Danube. 

it to the caprice of the reigning sovereign. One of the first measures 
of the new Emperor was that of ordering the remains of his father, 
Peter III., to be removed from the sepulchre in which they had been 
deposited in the church of St. Alexander Nevski; which, after having 
laid in state for three weeks, were interred in the sepulchre of Cath¬ 
erine II., in the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul. He also, with 
strong marks of admiration and friendship, liberated Kosciusko from 
the prison wherein he had languished since his defeat and capture in 
1794. 

i Few political events of any importance marked the reign of Paul 
previous to the year 1798, when, in consequence of a treaty between 
i Russia and the Emperor of Germany, who were subsidized by Eng¬ 
land, an army of abouC fifty thousand men, under Field-Marshal 
Suwarrow, joined the imperialists in Austrian Italy, as already de¬ 
tailed. In 1799, the Emperor Paul entered into a treaty of offensive 
and defensive alliance with Great Britain. This treaty was signed at 
5 










































66 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


St. Petersburg on the 22d of June, in consequence of which a Russian 
fleet joined that of Britain in Yarmouth road, and took part in the 
unfortunate expedition to the coast of Holland undertaken in the 
summer of that year. 

Soon after this period the Russian Emperor began to show marks of 
mental derangement. His favors and his displeasures were alternately 
experienced by some of his most distinguished courtiers and adherents. 
Stanislaus, the deposed King of Poland, partook by turns of his benefi¬ 
cence and his severity; while to the memory of Suwarrow, who is said 
to have fallen a broken-hearted victim to the detraction of his imperial 
master, he raised a colossal statue of bronze; and on the days when he 
reviewed his troops in the square where the statue had been erected, he 
used to command them to march by in open order, and face the statue. 

The ill success of the Russian arms against the French, augmented 
by the bad understanding which subsisted between his generals and 
those of Austria, appeared also to have an extraordinary effect upon 
the mind of Paul. Meanwhile, Napoleon had returned from Egypt, 
and was chosen First Consul of France. He immediately liberated ten 
thousand Russian prisoners of war, and presenting them with new 
uniforms and everything necessary for their long journey, despatched 
them to their own country, together with a friendly epistle to their 
sovereign. Paul was not yet so “ insane” but that he could appreciate 
this truly magnanimous act as it deserved; and, from having been the 
uncompromising opponent of Napoleon, he now entered into amicable 
correspondence with him, and became one of his most ardent admirers. 
He laid an embargo on all the English vessels in his ports, and induced 
Sweden, Denmark, and Prussia to join him in the northern armed 
confederacy to resist the encroachments of the British Government. 
This gave great offence to the mercantile classes, who preferred the 
English to the French alliance. 

The growing eccentricities of Paul exhibited themselves in the most 
fantastic manner. Among his ukases was one against the use of shoe¬ 
strings and round hats; and in the number of queer whims which 
affected his brain was a rage for painting with the most glaring colors 
the watch-boxes, gates, and bridges throughout the Empire. This con¬ 
tinued course of folly and caprice disgusted many of the nobles, who 
at length entered into a confederacy to prevent the ruin of their coun¬ 
try, by removing the Emperor. For this purpose they employed Plato 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS, 


67 



Winter Camp Life of Russian Soldiers. 


Zuboff, the last of Catherine’s favorites, who had been banished from 
the court in disgrace. In order to avenge this affront, Zuboff formed 
the design of murdering the Emperor. He contrived, by his intrigues, 
to insinuate himself into the favor of Paul, and associated with the 
noblemen, in order the more securely to effect his purpose. Having 
taken their measures, the assassins proceeded to the imperial palace on 
the evening of March 22,1801. The Emperor, who usually slept upon 
a sofa, in an apartment next to that of the Empress, contrary to his 
custom, kissed the members of his family very affectionately, visited 
the sentinels at tbeir posts, and then retired to rest. The guard being 
changed by officers who were in the conspiracy, the murderers pene¬ 
trated with ease to the door of the Emperor’s apartment, where a huzzar, 
whom it had been found impossible to remove, presented his musket. 
Zuboff cut him down with his sabre. The murder of his faithful ser¬ 
vant roused the unfortunate monarch, who, springing from his sofa 
































68 


PETER THE GREAT TO M1CH0LAS. 


when the conspirators entered the room, at first endeavored to shelter 
himself behind the chairs and tables ; then, assuming an air of authority, 
commanded them to surrender as his prisoners. As they fiercely ad¬ 
vanced toward him, he implored them to spare his life, offered to accept 
of any terms which they might propose. Finding supplication vain, 
he made a violent effort to reach the window, in which he cut his hands; 
and being drawn back he knocked down one of the assailants wfith 
a chair. The Empress, awakened by the noise and turmoil, -would 
have called for assistance, if a voice had not -whispered to her to remain 
silent on pain of instant death. While the Emperor made a desperate 
resistance, one of the conspirators brought him to the floor with a blow 
on the temples; w T hen, recovering a little, he again supplicated for life. 
Another, taking off his sash, threw it twice around the neck of the 
defenceless Czar; and one end being held by himself, while the other 
was given to Zuboff, they strangled their sovereign. Having accom¬ 
plished the horrid deed, the assassins retired without molestation to 
their respective homes. 

Early the next morning the intelligence of the death of Paul (as 
having been produced by apoplexy) and the accession of the Grand 
Duke Alexander, were announced to the capital. The principal 
nobility and the great officers of State being assembled, Alexander 
was solemnly proclaimed Emperor of all the Russias. As in the case 
of the murder of Peter III., none of the assassins of Paul were punished, 
but rewards were heaped upon them. How far his sons were cognizant 
of what was going on, it is impossible to tell; but it was generally 
believed that they were in the secret, and connived at it from a convic¬ 
tion that their father intended to immure them in a fortress. It is 
also a significant fact that, on the night of the murder, the English 
fleet under Nelson was sailing into the Baltic for the attack on 
Copenhagen. 

The new Emperor, on the day of his accession, presented himself at 
the parade on horseback, and was hailed by the troops with loud and 
cordial acclamations. In the following September his coronation at 
Moscow took place amid great splendor. Alexander was in his twenty- 
fourth year when he ascended the throne; and from his amiable dispo¬ 
sition had acquired the love and respect of all his subjects. The first 
measure which he adopted, his opening proclamation, and his earliest 
imperial orders, all tended to encourage and confirm the hopes 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


69 


with which the Russian people beheld him mount the throne of his 
forefathers. In the same year he recalled the Siberian exiles, sup¬ 
pressed the secret State inquisition which had been reestablished by 
Paul, and remodeled the Senate. He likewise founded, 1804, the 
University of Kharkoff, and emancipated the Jews. 

Alexander appeared desirous to cultivate the friendship of the neigh¬ 
boring States, and especially that of Great Britain. His father, among 
other projects, had procured himself to be elected Grand Master of the 
Knights of Malta, and had laid claim to the sovereignty of that island. 
This claim, which had nearly produced a rupture between the Courts 
of London and St. Petersburg, Alexander consented to abandon, though 
he expressed a wish to be elected Grand Master of the Order by the free 
! suffrages of the Knights of St. John. 

In the meantime a confederacy had been formed among the northern 
Powers of Europe, as before intimated, with a view to oppose the 
British claim to the sovereignty of the seas; but by the wanton bom¬ 
bardment of Copenhagen, and the spirited interference of the British 
Court, especially with the Cabinet of St. Petersburg, the good under¬ 
standing between Great Britain and the northern States was reestab¬ 
lished, and the embargo which had been laid on British vessels in the 
Russian ports was taken off. A treaty of amity, commerce and navi¬ 
gation between Russia and Sweden was also agreed upon, to continue 
for twelve years. The most remarkable part of this treaty was the 
recognition by the Court of St. Petersburg of the northern confederacy, 
which the amicable adjustment with Britain appeared to have done 
away. 

On the 25th of March, 1802, was signed at Amicus the definitive 
treaty of peace between the belligerent Powers of Europe, by one ma¬ 
terial article of which the islands of Malta, Gozo, and Comino, in the 
Mediterranean, were to be restored to the Knights of St. John of Jerusa¬ 
lem, under the joint protection and guarantee of France, Great Britain, 
| Austria, Spain, Russia, and Prussia. Some time after the conclusion 
of this treaty disputes arose among the contracting powers relative to 
: the sovereignty of Malta; and the Emperor of Russia (who now for the 
i first time appeared personally among the potentates of Europe, and 
in June had an interview with the King of Prussia at Memel) insisted 
; that it should be yielded to Naples, otherwise he would not undertake 
to guarantee the Order of the Knights, and would separate from it the 

• 




70 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


priories of Russia. The retention of this island by the British forces, 
in direct violation of the treaty above referred to, was one of the chief 
causes of the renewal of the bloody contest between England and her 
allies and Napoleon which so long desolated the face of Europe. 

Alexander watched with a jealous eye the violence exercised by 
France among the German States, and the encroachments which she 
appeared desirous of making on the free navigation of the Baltic. He 
had, in 1803, offered his mediation between Great Britain and France, 
but without effect, and both these parties strove to bring over the Rus¬ 
sian Emperor to their alliance. The Court of London finally prevailed; 
and on the lltli of April, 1805, a treaty of concert was concluded be¬ 
tween Great Britain and Russia, to which Austria also became a party, 
in which the three governments agreed to adopt the most efficacious 
means for forming a general league of the crowned heads of Europe to 
be directed against the Powers of republican France. The ostensible 
objects of this league were the evacuation of the country of Hanover 
(then belonging to the crown of England) and the north of Germany ; 
the independence of the republics of Holland and Switzerland; the re¬ 
establishment of the kingdom of Sardinia in Piedmont (who had first 
attacked France) ; the security of the King of Naples; and the com¬ 
plete evacuation of Italy, the island of Elba included, by the French 
forces; but the principal motive, and underlying all others, was the 
desire for overthrowing Napoleon, the elective Emperor, and reinstating 
the Bourbons, to reign by “ Divine right,” and thus presenting a solid 
barrier against the future spread of free principles. For the prosecu¬ 
tion of the great objects of this treaty, it was proposed that an army of 
four hundred thousand men should be levied. It was stipulated that 
these troops should be provided by the Powers of the Continent who 
should become parties to the league, and that subsidies should be 
granted by Great Britain in the proportion of over six millions of dol¬ 
lars for every hundred thousand men, besides a considerable additional 
sum for the necessary expense of bringing them into the field. 

About this time, the occupation of Genoa by the French, in order to 
preserve it from an attack by the English fleet, was communicated to 
the different sovereigns of Europe, among whom it excited the highest 
indignation. The Emperor Alexander, incensed at this new act of 
Napoleon, immediately recalled his envoy; and this appeared to be the 
signal for hostilities on the part of Russia and Austria against France. 







PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS . 


71 



Napoleon, well knowing the British government and aristocracy to he 
the main projectors of all the coalitions against him, had collected an 
immense armament at Boulogne for the invasion of England; but 
learning that Alexander, at the head of fifty thousand men, was rapidly 
marching to join the Austrians under the Emperor Francis, for the 
purpose of secretly attacking France, he resolved to meet them on their 






















































































































72 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


own ground. With surprising celerity lie traversed France and Ger¬ 
many, and encountering the superior forces of the allies on the plain of 
Austerlitz, December 2, 1805, he utterly overthrew them. In their 
retreat across a lake, a large body of Russians were drowned by the 
breaking of the ice from the artillery shots of the French. The Empe¬ 
rors Francis and Alexander, from an eminence, beheld with anguish 
the complete discomfiture of their splendid army, and the latter soon 
after returned to St. Petersburg. When the news of this decisive battle 
reached England, the prime minister Pitt remarked, “ We may now 
close the map of Europe for years.” His death, soon after, was has¬ 
tened by chagrin. 

The consequence of these disastrous events to the allies was, first, a 
cessation of hostilities, and finally a treaty of alliance between Russia 
and France in 1806. Alexander, however, was determined to make, 
one more effort to gain better terms from Napoleon. The Russian 
envoy at Paris, D’Oubril, had hastily concluded a preliminary treaty 
of peace between Russia and France. The terms of this convention, 
when laid before the privy council by Alexander, appeared so deroga¬ 
tory to the interests of Russia, that the Emperor refused them his 
sanction; but at the same time signified his willingness to renew the 
negotiations for peace on such terms as were consistent with the dignity 
of his crown and the interests of his empire. The machinations of the 
British government, however, broke off the negotiations, and both par¬ 
ties again prepared for war. 

In the meantime, the King of Prussia, urged on by the English and 
Austrian cabinets, prepared to oppose his efforts to the growing pow r er 
of France. He collected an army of two hundred thousand men near 
Weimar and Jena, while the French forces assembled in Franconia 
and on the frontiers of Saxony. The same extraordinary success, how 
ever, was still to attend the arms of France. Tha Prussians were 
totally defeated by Napoleon at Jena; and the same day was fought 
the decisive battle of Aurstadt, in which Marshal Davoust, with an 
inferior French force, completely routed the enemy, who, besides nu 
mefrms infantry and artillery, had forty thousand splendid cavalry, 
commanded by the Prince of Prussia. In these two actions the loss 
of the Prussians amounted to about twenty thousand in killed and 
w r ounded, ?nd over thirty thousand prisoners. The lines of fugitives, 
converging from the fields of Jena and Auerstadt, fled tumultuously 





PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


73 



Shoeing Cavalry Horses in Russia. 


toward Berlin, which capital Napoleon entered on the 27th of Oc¬ 
tober. 

While the French were thus successful over the Prussians, the troops 
of Alexander entered Prussian Poland, and General Benningsen took 
up his residence at Warsaw, which, however, he was soon compelled to 
evacuate by the French under Murat, who entered the city on the 28th 
of November. After several skirmishes, in which the Prussians were 
were defeated, a dreadful engagement took place between them and 
the French at Ostralenka, about sixty miles from Warsaw. The fight¬ 
ing continued for three days, and the loss was immense on both sides, 
though the advantage appears to have been on the side of the French. 
On the 26th of December the latter were beaten by the Bussians at 
Pultusk, which terminated the'campaign of 1806. 

On the 7th and 8th of February, 1807, the severely contested battle 
< of Eylau was fought, in which Napoleon commanded in person at the 
head of the imperial guards. Each side three times lost and won, the 
deciding move being made by Benningsen, who took Koningsberg by 










































74 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


assault. At one time; while Napoleon was reconnoitering the field of 
battle from a church a detachment of Cossacks dashed up the streets 
of the town, and would have captured him, but for a timely charge of 
French dragoons. On the night of the 8th, Benningsen was reinforced 
by fifteen thousand Prussians, who wished to renew the battle or the 
third day, but at a council of war the Russian commander deemed it 
( prudent to retreat, though greatly superior in force to the French. 

Several actions succeeded, at Spanden, at Lamitten, at Guttdatsd, 
and at Heilsberg, in all of which the French had the advantage. 
On the 28th of May, 1807, they took Dantzic; and on the 14th of 
June the Russians appeared in considerable force on the bridge of 
Friedland, whither the French army under Napoleon was advancing. 
Here, notwithstanding the utmost efforts of the Russians, they were 
totally defeated by the French, who carried all before them. In 
consequence of this victory, the latter became masters of all the country 
round Koningsberg, and Marshal Soult entered that city in triumph. 
Thus concluded the campaign in Germany, in which the Russians 
sustained a loss of at least thirty thousand of their choicest troops. 

The defeats which the allied armies had suffered in Prussia and 
Poland rendered peace on almost any terms a desirable object; and 
Alexander found himself constrained to meet, at least with the appear¬ 
ance of friendship, the conqueror of his armies. Propositions for an 
armistice had been made by the Prussian General to the Grand Duke 
of Berg, near Tilsit; and, after the battle of Friedland, the Russian 
Prince Labanoff had a conference, for the same purpose, with the 
Prince of Neufchatel, soon after which an armistice was concluded 
between the French and Russians. On the 25th of June an amicable 
meeting took place between the Emperors of France and Russia, in 
a handsome pavilion erected on a raft for the occasion, which was 
moored in the middle of the river Niemen. The result of this inter¬ 
view was the famous treaty of Tilsit, concluded between the Emperor 
of the French on the one part, and the Emperor of Russia and the 
King of Prussia on the other, on the 7th and 12th of July, 1807. 

Alexander, by this compact, became the ally of France, and ac¬ 
knowledged the brothers of Napoleon as kings respectively of Naples, 
Holland, and Westphalia; he formally recognized also the confedera¬ 
tion of the Rhine, and promised to acknowledge all the sovereigns who 
might hereafter become members of that confederation. He engaged 



PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


75 


that hostilities on the part of Russia should immediately cease with 
the Ottoman Porte. He undertook also to mediate for a peace between 
England and France. This mediation was declined on the part of the 
British Government, until it should be made acquainted with the 
stipulations of the treaty of Tilsit, and should find them not conflicting 
with its own claims to the free navigation of the Baltic and the 
introduction of British goods to the continent. The grounds of this 
declination served as a reason for binding more closely the alliance 
between Russia and France, by breaking off the connection of the 
former with Great Britain. Accordingly, Lord Gower, who had 
succeeded the Marquis of Douglas as envoy, received a note from the 
Russian Government, intimating that, as a British embassador, he 
could be no longer received at the court of St. Petersburg, which he 
therefore soon after quitted. 

An embargo was now laid on all British vessels in the ports of 
Russia, and it was peremptorily required by Napoleon and Alexander 
that Sweden should abandon her alliance with Great Britain. An 
additional cause for the Russian declaration of war against the latter 
power was furnished by the second bombardment of Copenhagen, and 
the seizure of the Danish fleet in the harbor by a British squadron; 
and, although Lord Gower had attempted to justify these measures, on 
the plea of anticipating the French in the same transaction, the 
Emperor of Russia expressed in the warmest terms his indignation at 
this unjust and outrageous attack on a neutral power. A considerable 
Russian fleet joined the French, but the combined squadrons were 
compelled to seek for shelter in the Tagus, where they remained 
blocked up by a superior British armament; and another Russo-French 
fleet of fifteen sail-of-the-line that proceeded up the Mediterranean, and 
advanced as far as Trieste, met with a similar fate. In fact, hostilities 
between Russia and England resulted chiefly in a cessation of trade. 

The demand of concurrence in the views of France and Russia 
made on Sweden, was formally repeated in a declaration of the Emperor 
Alexander, published at St. Petersburg on the 10th of February, 1808. 
In this declaration, his Imperial Majesty intimated to the King of 
Sweden that he was making preparations to invade his territories; but 
that he was ready to change the measures he was about to take, to 
measures of precaution only, if Sweden would, without delay, join 
Russia and Denmark in shutting the Baltic against Great Britain 


70 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 



A Russian Military Post on the Pruth. 


until the conclusion of a maritime peace. Pie professed that nothing 
could be more painful to him than to see a rupture take place between 
Sweden and Russia; but that his Swedish Majesty had it still in his 
power to avoid this event, by resolving, without delay, to adopt that 
course which could alone preserve strict union between the two states. 
The King of Sweden, however, determined to abide by the measures 
which he had for some time pursued, and accede to the terms of the 
convention which had just been concluded between him and the King 
of Great Britain. 

In consequence of this determination, a Russian army, under the 
command of General Buxhowden, entered Finland in the beginning 
of March, 1808, and advanced against Helsingfors, which was occu¬ 
pied by a single battalion of a Swedish regiment. This small force 
retired into the fortress of Swealborg, where they maintained them¬ 
selves with great bravery till the 17th of April, when they were 
obliged to capitulate. The loss of this fortress, though inconsiderable 
in itself, so highly enraged the King of Sweden that he dismissed the 
naval and military commanders. who had been concerned in the 
capitulation. The Russians soon overran nearly all Finland, took 

























PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


77 


possession of Vasa, old and new Carleby, and reduced to subjection 
the whole province of which Vasa is the capital. The King of Sweden 
continued to send reinforcements to his armies in Finland; but no 
advantages of any importance were obtained, and the Russians re¬ 
mained in possession of a great part of that province until it was 
permanently ceded to Russia in 1809. 

A second meeting between the Emperors of France and Russia took 
place at Erfurth, in Saxony, on the 27th of September, 1808; Napo¬ 
leon being anxious to secure the friendship of Alexander previous to 
his meditated subjection of Spain. The English cabinet had now 
succeeded in forming another coalition against France, hostilities 
beirg commenced by her old ally, Austria, while Sir John Moore was 
despatched with a strong force to Spain. 

Alexander became the ally of France, and took part as such, m 
the war now opened by Austria; but his want of zeal in the cause was 
too evident to escape the penetration of the French Emperor, and 
a growing coldness between the imperial allies began to appear. 
Austria, completely humbled by the defeat of Wagram, was compelled 
to form an alliance with Napoleon. 

Great injury had, however, been done to Russian commerce, and 
heavy complaints made by merchants, in consequence of their ports 
having been shut against the English; they were therefore again opened 
to them, provided they hoisted American colors, while French goods 
were very strictly prohibited. This induced Napoleon, in retaliation, 
to make himself master of the principal northern ports of Germany, 
and to incorporate the possessions of the Duke of Oldenburg, a near 
relation of Alexander, with France. Against this proceeding Russia 
made a very energetic protest; and, in the year 1811, five divisions of 
the Russian army assumed a position opposite Warsaw. On the other 
hand, Napoleon caused the fortresses on the Vistula and Oder to be 
declared in a state of siege, sent thither large masses of troops, and 
occupied Swedish Pomerania, because Charles XIII. of Sweden ad¬ 
hered to his alliance with England. 

The contest in Spain, where Wellington was operating with a 
powerful British auxiliary force, was at this time daily growing more 
obstinate, and the large amount of men and money it consumed might 
well have appeared to Napoleon a sufficient obstacle to a struggle 
with Russia; but he calculated that his entire armies, amounting to 


78 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


nearly a million of effective men, would be sufficient for the conflict 
in both quarters; and he also relied upon a great mass of auxiliary 
forces, chiefly promised by the confederation of the Rhine; besides his 
alliance with Prussia and Austria, which covered him on both flanks, 
and secured his retreat. He, however, made peaceable offers, through 
the Count de Narbonne, his ambassador at St. Petersburg; but the 
object of his mission being unattained, about half a million of soldiers, 
consisting of French, Germans, Italians, Poles, Swiss, Spaniards, and 
Portuguese, with more than twelve hundred cannon, were put in motion 
about the end of July, 1812, to attack the Russians on the other side 
of the Niemen and the Vistula. 

To meet this invasion, Alexander, having reestablished his alliance 
with Great Britain, made peace with the Sultan, and withdrew his 
troops from the Turkish frontier. He also issued a ukase, on the 
23d of March, ordering a levy of two men out of every five hundred 
throughout the Empire. The Russians, in three divisions, occupied a 
line including Kiev and Smolensk to Riga. All the disposable pro¬ 
perty and records had long before been conveyed into the interior. 
The first western Russian army in Poland w T as stationed along the 
Niemen as far as Grodno. The second western army was in the 
vicinity of Honiur. Besides these, there were additional corps sta¬ 
tioned at other points in the western frontier. 

The Russian plan of the campaign was, by retreating, to avoid a 
decisive battle, until the enemy should be remote from all his re¬ 
sources, and weakened by marches through a desolate region, and the 
Russian army should be so considerably strengthened by the accession 
of all the forces that might be meanwhile raised, as to have a decided 
superiority. Napoleon’s scheme, on the contrary, was to use every 
effort to draw the Russians into battle, to destroy them after the 
defeat, and pressing forward with haste to the capital, to proffer peace. 
But he not only entirely mistook the character of his enemy, but he 
overlooked the important fact that, though the Russians might retreat, 
they would still be in possession of their resources. 

On the 6th of June, 1812, Napoleon crossed the Vistula, and on the 
23d the Niemen, and pushed on to Wilna, the Russians carefully 
retreating. Here the French Emperor remained eighteen days, and 
then marched on Vitepsk. The Russian General retired to Smolensk. 
Fatigue had meanwhile operated so disastrously on the French army, 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS 


79 



General Ignatieff, Russian Ambassador at Constantinople. 


that it was obliged *o halt for ten days, during which the two Russian 
armies formed a junction under the walls of Smolensk. Napoleon 
crossed the Dnieper and marched in pursuit of the enemy. The Rus¬ 
sians now began to act on the offensive, and Napoleon ordered his 
right wing to hasten, by rapid marches, to cut them off from Moscow. 
At midnight on the 17th the French succeeded in capturing Smolensk, 




80 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


■which was reduced to ruins, its magazines having been destroyed or 
removed, and the houses set on fire by the departing inhabitants. 

The Russian army retired in haste, pursued by Napoleon. The 
battle of Borodind, near Moscow, was fought on the 1st of September, 
resulting in a decisive victory for the French. The Russians con¬ 
tinued slowly and sullenly to retreat towards Moscow, establishing 
their batteries wherever they could make a stand. They drove before 
them the wretched serfs, blew up the bridges behind them, burned the 
towns as they passed along, and carried away or destroyed all the 
provisions and forage. For seven days the French pursued their foes 
over the dreary plains. They were everywhere victorious, and yet 
they obtained no results from their victories. Count Rostopchin, the 
Governor, was making effectual preparations for the conflagration of 
the city of Moscow, and was urging, by every means in his power, the 
evacuation of the city by the inhabitants. 

About noon of the 14th of September, Napoleon descried, from the 
summit of the Sparrow hills, the glittering domes and minarets of 
Moscow. He reined in his horse, and exclaimed, “ Behold ! Yonder 
is the celebrated city of the Czars.” After gazing upon it for a few 
moments in silence, he remarked, “ It was full time.” The soldiers, 
thinking that their sufferings were now at an end, and anticipating 
good quarters and abundant supplies, gave w T ay to transports of joy. 
Shouts of “ Moscow! Moscow!” spread from rank to rank, and all 
quickened their pace to gain a view of the object of their wishes. 
They approached the city, but, to their amazement, they met but 
silence and solitude. The astounding intelligence was brought to 
Napoleon that the city was deserted. A few miserable creatures, who 
had been released from the prisons to fire the city as soon as the 
French should have taken possession, were found in the streets. They 
were generally intoxicated, and presented a squalid and hideous spec¬ 
tacle. The soldiers dispersed through the city in search of provisions 
and quarters. Many of the inhabitants had left in such haste, that 
the rich ornaments of the ladies were found on their toilets, and the 
letters and gold of men of business on their desks. 

On the morning of the 15th, Napoleon removed his headquarters to 
the Kremlin. He immediately wrote to Alexander, proposing terms 
of peace. The day was passed in establishing the army in their new 
quarters. Some twenty thousand men and women of the lowest class, 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


81 


fierce and revolting in aspect, gradually stole from their hiding-places 
and mingled with the French troops. Ten thousand prisoners, who 
had been liberated by the Governor, were stealthily preparing to 
convert the magnificent metropolis into a vast “ infernal machine’’ 
for the destruction of the French army. Immense magazines of 
powder were placed beneath the Kremlin and other structures thai 
would be filled with soldiers; shells and other destructive engines of 
war were secreted, in vast quantities, in chambers and cellars; the 
fountains had also been destroyed, the water-pipes cut, and the fire- 
engines carried off. 

About midnight of the 16th the cry of “Fire!” was suddenly heard 
in the streets. Far off in the east of the Kremlin, immense volumes 
of smoke and flame were rolling Up into the stormy sky. Loud 
explosions of bursting shells and upheaving mines scattered death and 
dismay around. The flames spread in all directions. Mines were 
sprung, shells burst, cannons discharged, "wagons of powder and maga¬ 
zines blew up, and in a few hours of indescribable confusion and 
terror, the whole vast city was wrapped in an ocean of flame* The 
French soldiers shot the incendiaries, bayoneted them, tossed them 
into the fire; but still, like demons, they plied their work. During 
the whole of the 17th and the ensuing night the fire continued to 
rage, and at last reached the Kremlin, forcing Napoleon to retire to 
the castle of Petrow T ski, about three miles distant; but the flames 
abating on the 19th, he returned to that portion of the Kremlin which 
yet remained uninjured. 

The confusion and tumult which ensued When the work of pillage 
commenced cannot be conceived. Soldiers, sutlers, and galley-slaves 
were seen running through the streets, penetrating into the deserted 
palaces, and carrying away everything that could gratify their avarice. 
Some clothed themselves with silks and costly furs; others dressed 
themselves in women’s attire; and even the galley-slaves concealed 
their rags under the most splendid court dresses; the rest crowded to 
the cellars, and, forcing open the doors, drank the wine and carried 
off an immense booty. This horrible pillage was not confined to the 
deserted houses, but extended to the few which were inhabited, and 
soon the eagerness and wantonness of the plunderers caused devasta¬ 
tions which almost equalled those occasioned by the conflagration. 

On the morning of the 19th of October, after a stay of thirty-four 

6 



82 PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 

days, Napoleon quitted Moscow and retreated toward Kalouga. And 
now the picture of the advance to Moscow was to be reversed. 
Hordes of Cossacks hung upon the rear of the retreating army, cutting 
off the stragglers and committing every atrocity. Murat was defeated 
at Malo-Yaroslavitz on the 24th of October, and an unsuccessful stand 
was made at Yiasma on the 3d of November. On the 6th, a winter 
peculiarly early and severe, even for Russia, set in; the thermometer 
sank eighteen degrees, the wind blew furiously over the desert country, 
and the soldiers, vainly struggling with the eddying snow which drove 
against them with the violence of a whirlwind, could no longer distin¬ 
guish the road, and, falling into the ditches by the side, were quickly 
covered with the wintry mantle, and there found a grave. Others 
crawled on, badly clothed, with nothing to eat or drink, frost-bitten, 
and groaning with pain. What scenes did not the retreat then pre¬ 
sent! Discipline was gone; under such horrible sufferings even these 
tried and veteran soldiers could no longer obey their officers. Thus 
disorganized, they spread themselves right and left in search of food, 
and, as the horses fell, seized upon their mangled carcasses and de¬ 
voured them raw like dogs. Many remained by the dying embers of 
the bivouac-fire, and, as these expired, an insensibility crept over them 
which soon became the sleep of death—thus thousands perished. 

On the 9th of November Napoleon reached Smolensk, and remained 
till the 15th, collecting his scattered forces, now reduced to forty 
thousand effective men, when he set out for Krasnoi. Meantime, the 
Russian commander, with a hundred thousand troops, advanced by a 
parallel road, and stationed himself across Napoleon’s route; while the 
French rear-guard, under Ney, was nearly destroyed. The emperor, 
however, pressing forward, succeeded in cutting his way through the 
dense masses of the Russians. But from this time to the 26th and 
27th, when the French crossed the Beresina, all was utter and hopeless 
confusion; and in the passage of that river, in the midst of a furious 
attack from the Russians, one of the frail bridges broke beneath the 
weight of the artillery, baggage and troops, with which it was bur¬ 
dened. A vast and frenzied crowd, struggling at the heads of the 
bridges, trampled upon each other, while cannon-balls plowed through 
the living, tortured mass. Multitudes were forced into the stream, and 
with shrieks which pierced through the thunders of the battle, sank 
beneath the floating ice. On the 29th the Emperor resumed hig 
march, and was met by a convoy of provisions from Wilna. 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


83 



A Scene in Nevski Prospect, near St. Petersburg. 


The French were now upon the borders of Poland, and received 
sympathy and aid from the people. On the 5th of December, Napo¬ 
leon, attended by a small Polish escort, set out in a sledge for Paris, 
leaving Murat to command in his stead. On the 18th he entered his 
capital and the palace of the Tuilleries. 

The Russians, meanwhile, pressed hard upon the retreating French, 
until they reached the Niemen, the ancient boundary of the empire. 
At Kowno, Marshal Ney, with a handful of men, held the enemy at 
bay for four days; and seizing a musket, fought like a common soldier, 
until the last man had retired across the bridge; then deliberately 
walking backward, he fired the last bullet at the advancing Russians, 
and threw his gun into the stream. He was the last of the “ Grand 
Army” that left the Russian territory. 

The Emperor Alexander, who had hitherto only fought on the 
defensive, now resolved in his turn to become the aggressor; and, 
joining his army in Poland, published in February, 1813, the cele¬ 
brated manifesto which served as a basis for the coalition of the other 
powers of Europe to destroy Napoleon and overturn the French 
empire. The King of Prussia at the same time summoned all capable 
of bearing arms to battle for their country; and, though he did not 






























84 


PETER THE GREAT TO NICHOLAS. 


then designate his object, his people, who for five years had been 
humbled and degraded, understood him, and, with unparalleled en¬ 
thusiasm, thousands poured forth to their places of rendezvous from 
every section of the country. In vain had the French, with the aid 
of their last reserves and of troops drawn together in haste, made 
efforts to remain on the Pregel, on the Vistula, and on the Oder. The 
Kussians advanced everywhere with superior numbers, and the French 
were obliged to retire behind the Elbe. Prussia now declared war 
against France, and concluded an alliance with Russia. The confed¬ 
eration of the Rhine was dissolved, and although Austria yet remained 
neutral, the insurrection was general in northern Germany. Mean¬ 
time, however, much time was lost in negotiations with the King of 
Saxony, and Kutusaff, the Russian commander, died of fever at 
Buntzlaw, upon which Alexander appointed Wittgenstein to the chief 
command. On the 18th of October occurred the terrible battle of 
Leipsic, in which the French were overwhelmed by greatly superior 
numbers. The allies now rapidly advanced to the Rhine; and though 
Napoleon continued to struggle through the winter, his adversaries 
gradually environed him with half a million of men, and Alexander 
entered Paris on the 31st of March, 1814. 

The “ Holy Alliance,” at Vienna in 1815, having settled the affairs 
of Europe satisfactorily, Alexander devoted himself to the advance¬ 
ment of his own empire. The most opposite traits are found combined 
in the character of this sovereign. He was at once seen encouraging 
Bible societies and the education of his people, yet interfering with the 
spread of political knowledge and liberty in distant states. He w T as at 
times firm even to stubbornness, at others vacillating; his character 
baffles all who endeavor to describe him as he actually was. His dis¬ 
position, however, was kind and generous, his manners mild and 
amiable, and his moderation generally prevented him from abusing 
his unlimited power. He made many judicious alterations in the gov¬ 
ernment ; and, under the influence of his mother and the Empress, the 
levity and extravagance of the Russian court were materially repressed. 

Alexander, attended to the last by his wife Elizabeth, died of ery¬ 
sipelas in a small and humble dwelling near Taganrog, December 1, 
1825, when on a tour of inspection through the southern provinces of 
his empire, and was succeeded by Nicholas I. on the 25th of the same 
month. 


NICHOLAS I. TO ALEXANDER II. 


85 


CHAPTER III. 

Nicholas i. to Alexander, IL 



Rations being Served to a Detachment of Russian Soidters. 

Nicholas Paulovich, who succeeded Alexander, was born at St. 
Petersburg on the 7th of July, 1796. Soon after the beginning of his 
reign a war with Persia broke out, in consequence of disputes arising 
from the non-settlement of certain boundaries between Russia and that 
Power. Abbas Mirza, who had just then succeeded to the throne of 
Persia, thinking the moment propitious for attacking Russia, at once 
marched over the frontier, and advanced as far as Elizabetpol, in 
Georgia; but the Persians were defeated, and driven back. War was 
now immediately declared against them; and General Paskiewitch, 
being appointed Commander-in-Chief by the Emperor, passed the 



86 


NICHOLAS I. TO ALEXANDER II. 


Araxes, took several strong fortresses, entered ancient Media with no 
opposition, and forced the Shah to sue for peace, compelling him to 
give up an extensive territory on the southwestern shore of the Caspian 
Sea, with some provinces on the Caucasus, besides making him pay the 
expenses of the war and the losses by the invasion. 

The war with Persia was scarcely ended, when Russia engaged in 
another—with Turkey. The Porte accused the Russians of having 
secretly fomented the insurrection of Greece, of having openly attacked 
and destroyed their fleet in the Bay of Navarino, with having violated 
the treaties of Bucharest and Ackerman, and established connections 
with the malcontents in every part of the Empire. The Russians 
replied by accusing the Porte of having excited the mountaineers of 
Caucasus to revolt, and incited them to embrace Islamism; with having 
violated or delayed the execution of all the treaties in favor of its 
Christian subjects; and arbitrarily closed the Bosphorus on various 
occasions, and thereby deeply injured the southern provinces of the 
Empire. A declaration of war was issued by the Emperor of Russia, 
and on the 7th of May, 1828, the Russian forces passed the Pruth to 
the number of one hundred thousand, including persons of all distinc¬ 
tions, attached to the camp. The Turks were not in sufficient force to 
resist such a crusade, and retired as the Russians advanced. In a short 
time the entire level of the country was overrun ; Jassy and Bucharest 
occupied; Galatz, with its beautiful harbor, taken; and, in brief, the 
entire left bank of the Danube was occupied by the Muscovite troops. 

On the 8th of June the Russians crossed the Danube, attacked and 
captured several fortresses and fortified towns, and soon overran the 
whole country between the Danube and the sea. Several engagements 
took place during July and August, and the Ottomans withdrew into 
their entrenched camp around Schumla. The Emperor left a sufficient 
force to observe Schumla, directed the remainder of the army against 
Varna, which was invested by both land and sea, and after a desperate 
resistance, taken on the 10th of October. 

After the fall of Varna, the Russian commander left sufficient forces 
to occupy and maintain the captured fortresses, and commenced his 
retreat with the remainder of his army on the 15th of October; it was 
conducted with so much secrecy, that the Turks for some days were 
not aware of what was going on, and he at first sustained very little 
molestation. But this did not long continue. On the 19th the rear 



NICHOLAS I. TO ALEXANDER II. 


87 


guard was attacked by eight thousand Turkish cavalry; but they kept 
their ground, though at a very heavy loss. After this, the retrograde 
movement became eminently disastrous. Eye-witnesses of both com¬ 
pared it to the retreat from Moscow. Caissons and baggage were 
abandoned at every step; the stragglers nearly all fell into the enemy’s 
hands, by whom they were instantly massacred; and the Russians 
experienced, in their turn, the disasters which they had inflicted on 
Napoleon’s army in 1812. At length the wearied columns reached 
the Danube, which they immediately crossed, and spread themselves 
in winter quarters over Wallachia. Thus ended in Europe the cam¬ 
paign of 1828, in which the Russians, with the exception of the occupa¬ 
tion of Wallachia and Moldavia (which were abandoned by the Turks 
without resistance) and the reduction of Varna, had made no sensible 
progress. Both parties, after it was over, found themselves on the 
banks of the Danube, mutually exhausted by the most urgent efforts. 

The campaign in Asia during the same year w r as attended with more 
decisive results. The Russian force pushed its way from Caucasus and 
Ararat into Asiatic Turkey, and took by storm the strong fortress of 
Kars, with all its arms and ammunition. After this, several other for¬ 
tresses fell into the hands of the Russians; so that, besides obtaining 
possession of Mingrelia and Imeritia, the wdiole pachalic of Bajazid, as 
far as the banks of the Euphrates, was conquered. 

The winter of 1828-29 was actively employed by both the Russians 
and the Turks in preparing for the opening of the next campaign. On 
the 8th of May, 1829, the Russian army crossed the Danube, in two 
columns, at Hirchova and Kalavatsh, immediately below Silistria. 
The latter place was at once invested by thirty-five thousand Russians, 
while a reserve army of forty thousand was stationed in advance 
towards Schumla. The siege of Silistria was prosecuted with the 
utmost vigor, while a powerful flotilla, issuing from the upper part of 
the river, cut the besieged off from all communication by w T ater on the 
west. But the Turks made a vigorous resistance, and recourse was of 
necessity had to the tedious processes of sap and mine. 

During the investment of Silistria, a battle was fought, on the 11th 
of June, at Kulewtsclia, about midway between Silistria and Schumla, 
between the Russian reserve and forty thousand Turks. This engage¬ 
ment continued for eight hours, and finally resulted in the discomfiture 
of the Turks, who retreated in confusion, and by a circuitous route 
succeeded in reentering Schumla. 


88 


NICHOLAS I. TO ALEXANDER IT. 


After this battle, the operations before Silistria were resumed. The 
garrison, however, continued to hold out till the night of the 30th of 
June, when a great mine under the rampart having been exploded, 
made a yawning breach in it, which, by the concentric fire of the Rus¬ 
sian artillery, was soon rendered practicable for storming. Seeing 
further resistance hopeless, the commander agreed to surrender. The 
troops, to the number of eight thousand, laid down their arms, and 
were made prisoners of war. The armed inhabitants were allowed to 
retire without their arms, but none of them availed themselves of the 
permission. 

The Russian commander now determined on the daring step of pass¬ 
ing the Balkan, in preference to the alternative of undertaking another 
siege to secure more effectually his line of communication. His plan 
being formed accordingly, he invested Schumla with ten thousand men 
under Krasowsky. Reschid Pacha, the Grand Vizier, in expectation 
of an immediate assault, recalled a portion of his troops from the 
mountain passes, to aid in the defence of a position on which, in his 
opinion, everything depended. The defenders of the Balkan being 
thus seriously diminished, the Russian forces were enabled to force their 
passage across the mountains. The figurative comparison of the num¬ 
ber of the Russian army to the leaves of the forest, which had been spread 
by the Bulgarians, acted like magic. The Turkish army, deceived by 
these exaggerated accounts, retired to the ridge of low hills, twenty-five 
miles in front of Constantinople, which had so often in ancient times served 
as a barrier against the northern barbarians. The Russian general 
thus having an unobstructed route, resolved on pushing on to Adria- 
nople. Leaving a force at different points to secure his line of commu¬ 
nications, he advanced by forced marches, and encamped before that 
ancient city on the 19th of August. No preparations for the defence 
of Adrianople had been made, and a hasty capitulation enabled the 
Russians to enter the town on the following morning. 

The better to subsist, and also to augment the report of the magnitude 
and invincibility of his forces, the Russian general spread them out 
from the centre at Adrianople, like a fan, in every direction. While 
the advanced guards were pushed on the high-road to within eighty 
miles of Constantinople, the left wing advanced and took Midiah 
within sixty-five miles of the Bosphorus, where it entered into commu¬ 
nication with Admiral Greig’s squadron ; and the right moved forward 


NICHOLAS I. TO ALEXANDER II. 


89 



Soldiers of the Line after their Uniforms. 


by Trajanopolis on Enos, in the Mediterranean, and met the fleet of 
Admiral Heiden, which was at anchor, expecting them, in the bay. 
At the same time, Krasowsky, by repeated attacks, so imposed upon 
the garrison at Schumla, that, so far from thinking of disquieting these 
movements, they deemed themselves fortunate to be able to preserve 
their own redoubts. Thus the Russian army extended from the Euxine 
to the Mediterranean, across the entire breadth of Turkey, and was 
supported by a powerful fleet at the extremity of either flank; while 
at the same time its reserve blockaded eighteen thousand men in 
Schumla, and its advanced guard menaced Constantinople. But the 
strength of their army w r as not equal to so great an expansion of its 
force, and was in reality on the verge of a most terrible catastrophe. 
In the middle of September the Russian force at Adrianople did not 
exceed fifteen thousand men. 

An extraordinary impression was produced by these decisive events, 
both at Constantinople and over Europe. The terror in the Turkish 
capital was extreme; and the grand seignior, with tears in his eyes, 
agreed to the treaty of Adrianople, one of the most renowed in the 
Russian as it was one of the most disastrous in the Turkish annals. 

By this celebrated treaty the Emperor of Russia restored to the 














NICHOLAS I. TO ALEXANDER //. 


90 

Sublime Porte the two principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, and 
all the conquered places in Bulgaria and Roumania, with the exception 
of the islands at the mouth of the Danube, which were reserved to 
Russia. All the conquests in Asia Minor were in like manner restored 
to Turkey, excepting the fortress of Anapa, Poli, Akhalzikh, Abzkow, 
and Akhalkalaki, which, with a considerable territory around them, 
were ceded to Russia, and, in a military point of view, constituted most 
important acquisitions. All the privileges and immunities secured by 
former treaties were ratified in their fullest extent. An entire and 
unqualified amnesty was provided for all political offenders in every 
part of the Turkish dominions. The passage of the Dardanelles was 
declared open to all Russian merchant vessels, as well as those of nations 
at peace with the Sublime Porte, with all guarantees requisite to secure 
to Russia the undisturbed navigation of the Black Sea. 

Another convention, signed the same day, determined the respective 
rights of the parties to Wallachia and Moldavia. It provided that the 
hospodars of these provinces should be elected for life, and not, as here¬ 
tofore, for seven years; that the pachas and officers of the Porte in the 
adjoining provinces were not at liberty to intermingle in any respect in 
their concerns; that the middle of the Danube was to be the boundary 
between them to the junction of that river with the Pruth; and “ the 
better to secure the future inviolability of Moldavia and Wallachia, 
the Sublime Porte engaged not to maintain any fortified post or any 
Mussulman establishment on the north of the Danube; that the towns 
situated on the left bank should be restored to Wallachia, and their 
fortifications never repaired; and all Mussulmans holding possessions 
on the left bank were to be bound to sell them to the natives in the 
space of eighteen months. The government of the hospodars was to be 
entirely independent of Turkey; and they were to be liberated from the 
quota of provisions they had hitherto been bound to furnish to Con¬ 
stantinople and the fortresses on the Danube.” 

The Polish revolution is the next important event in the history of 
Russia. Although the immediate cause of this revolution was severe 
punishment inflicted on pupils of the military academy at Warsaw, 
there is no doubt that the Poles were encouraged to make the attempt 
by the success that attended the Parisians in July, 1830, to secure to 
themselves a constitutional government. Accordingly, on the 19th of 
November following, the military cadets and students of Warsaw, 


NICHOLAS /. TO ALEXANDER 11. 


91 



Friends of the Servian Cause making Contributions. 

joined by the Polish troops, seized the arsenal with forty thousand 
stand of arms, and the insurrection became general. On the next 
morning forty thousand troops and citizens were in arms, and the 
Russians were expelled from the capital. January 24,1831, the Polish 
Diet, which had been opened on the 18th of December, declared the 
absolute independence of Poland, and the termination of the Russian 
dominion ; and on the 25th, that the Polish throne was vacant. The 
object of the Polish revolutionists, however, was not to withdraw them¬ 
selves entirely from the authority of the Russian emperor, but only to 
maintain the privileges that were guaranteed to them at the Congress 
of Vienna in 1815, and to get rid of the tyrannous viceroyship of the 
Grand Duke Constantine. Nevertheless, they had now drawn the 
sword, and although two commissioners were sent to St. Petersburg to 
endeavor to effect an arrangement, the Emperor refused to listen to 






















92 


NICHOLAS /. TO ALEXANDER II. 


them, and denounced the revolted Poles as traitors to whom no lenity 
would be shown. 

Marshal Diebitch, who had successfully conducted the war with the 
Turks, entered Poland at the head of a large army. He advanced as 
far as Warsaw, and was victorious over the Poles near the walls of their 
capital, February 25, 1831; but with a change of commanders the 
Polish cause gained strength. On the 31st of March they were victo¬ 
rious over the Russians in a night attack at Dembe Wielski. Another 
important victory was afterwards gained near Zelechow. During this 
action the Lithuanians and Yalhynians, w T ho served in the Russian 
army, turned their arms against the Russians, and materially contrib¬ 
uted to the success of the Poles. 

The peasants in various quarters of Poland now took an active part 
in the war, and hastened, with whatever weapons they could obtain, to 
the army. Insurrections broke out in Lithuania, Yalhynia, Kowno, 
Wilna, in the Ukraine, and even in ancient Poland as far as Smolensk. 
On the other hand, General Dwernicki, who had been sent to make a 
demonstration in the rear of the Russians, and who had been victo¬ 
rious over them, was at last compelled to pass into the Austrian domin¬ 
ions, where he surrendered to the authorities of that country, April 27, 
with five thousand Poles. The ardor of the people, however, still con¬ 
tinued, and hopes were entertained in every country that the manly 
resistance of the Poles would induce other governments to interfere; 
but, unfortunately, Prussia and Austria, being themselves in possession 
of a part of the spoils of Poland, did all in their power to prevent 
interference for fear of popular risings in Posen and Salicia, while 
France was too timid and cautious, and Great Britain was too much 
absorbed with domestic politics and the spirit of trade to render essen¬ 
tial aid. The military operations on the part of the Russians w T ere 
now piosecuted with new vigor; and the Emperor, who, in a manifesto 
addressed to the Russians, had called them the legitimate masters of 
the Poles, was ready to make every sacrifice to regain the Polish 
throne. 

The fate of the revolutionists was soon afterward decided. After 
two days’ fighting, Warsaw was taken by the Russians (September 7, 
1831), and the confiscation of their property and exile to Siberia fol¬ 
lowed. Though many found an asylum in France, England, and other 
countries, they were mostly in extreme poverty, and were dependent 


NICHOLAS I TO ALEXANDER II. 


93 


on the benevolence of those who pitied their hard fate while they 
admired their patriotism. An imperial ukase, issued March 17, 1832, 
abolished the kingdom of Poland and its constitution, and incorporated 
it with Russia as a province. The University of Warsaw was also 
suppressed as a punishment for the part taken by the students in the 
insurrection. 

From this period until 1849 no important act marked the influence 
of Russia in the world’s affairs. An occasion soon presented itself in 
which the Muscovite Czar was called upon to employ a portion of his 
troops in support of the “ divine right of kings.” On the appeal of 
the young Emperor of Austria, Francis Joseph, for aid against the 
armies of Kossuth, Nicholas sent his Cossacks into Hungary, who, with 
overwhelming numbers, finally vanquished the valiant Maygars. The 
chief reason given by the Czar for his intervention in this contest was 
the danger to which the Russian dominions must themselves be exposed 
from the triumph of the Maygars, with the large number of Polish 
refugees said to be engaged in their forces. Another motive was, how¬ 
ever, also assigned, namely, the mission of Russia to restore religious 
and political orthodoxy to the bewildered and disorganized nations of 
Europe. The Russian forces were put in motion simultaneously with 
the ukase of the Czar, which was dated April 26, 1849. One corps 
passed through Moravia by the northern railway, and entered Hungary 
northwest of Presburg; two other corps entered the country through 
the northwestern defiles of the Carpathians; the main body came 
through the central pass of the same range, and marched down on the 
main road toward Pesth. Transylvania was invaded on the southeast, 
and at the same time a Russian corps came into that province on the 
northeast. The Austrian armies were also recruited; and the entire 
force thus marshalled against this heroic nation scarcely fell short of 
three hundred thousand men. 

The popular enthusiasm was roused to an extraordinary pitch by the 
crisis. Governor Kossuth and his friends traversed every part of the 
country as apostles of the crusade for liberty, and the clergy of all 
denominations vied with each other in zeal against the invaders. The 
contest, however, was prolonged for some three months only after the 
entry of the Russians, and was virtually ended on the 13t,h of August 
at Villagos by the treacherous surrender of the Hungarian Gorgey, 
with his entire army, to the Russian commander. This was followed 




94 


NICHOLAS I. TO ALEXANDER LL 


by the surrender of all the strongholds in the hands of the Hunga¬ 
rians. Kossuth and other eminent officers, with some five thousand 
troops, found an asylum in Turkey. 

These events bring us down to the period of the Crimean War. The 
relations between Russia and the Ottoman Porte had been for some 
years assuming a threatening aspect. Among the disturbing elements 
was the question of the * holy places ” in Jerusalem, w r here certain 
privileges had been granted by the Turkish Government to Roman 
Catholics, at the cost, as the Court of St. Petersburg believed, of the 
Orthodox Greek Church. A conflict'between the Montenegrins and 
the Turks, at the beginning of 1853, increased the difficulty, as the 
hardy mountaineers of Montenegro had for some time enjoyed the 
special protection of Russia. Several other events of inferior import¬ 
ance thickened the cloud; and finally it was decided by Nicholas to 
make an imposing demonstration at Constantinople. 

In February, 1853, Prince Menchikoff left St. Petersburg on a mis¬ 
sion to Stamboul. He reached his destination on the 28th, and on the 
2d of March communicated to the Porte his credentials. The other 
Courts of Europe, and especially France, became uneasy at the demon¬ 
strations of Russia, and a French fleet appeared at about the end of 
the month in the waters of Greece. 

The first point debated between the Russian embassador and the 
Porte was that of the holy places in Palestine. After many circumlo¬ 
cutions, Prince Menchikoff laid down his ultimatum. This contained 
sundry claims never before preferred by Russia, as that the Porte 
should bind itself for the future never to encroach upon any immuni¬ 
ties anciently enjoyed by the Greek Church in Turkey, nor ever to 
allow any other Christian creed to predominate over it. The Porte 
refused to make such a treaty. On the 18th of May the Russian envoy 
broke off all further communications with the Porte, and retired to a 
steamer waiting for him in the harbor, and left Constantinople on the 
21st of May. 

Russia now began to gather bodies of troops about Odessa and in 
Bessarabia. Turkey also began to arm. On the 25th of June the 
Czar issued a manifesto to his people, announcing his purpose to sustain 
the religious rights of the Eastern Church, which he said were endan¬ 
gered in Turkey. The Russian troops accordingly crossed the Pruth, 
and entered the Danubian principalities. France and England seemed 


NICHOLAS /. TO ALEXANDER II. 


95 



Russian Soldiers being Reviewed by the Czar. 


more united at this juncture. Austria and Prussia remained neutral, 
and the first offered her friendly mediation. Conferences were opened 
at Constantinople and at Vienna between the ministers of the four 
courts, and on the 1st of August a note was sent from Vienna to St. 
Petersburg and Constantinople offering terms of pacification. The 
Czar accepted them, but the Sultan introduced some changes and modi¬ 
fications, which were disapproved at St. Petersburg, and destroyed the 
first conciliatory attempts at diplomacy. Russia having taken posses¬ 
sion of Jassy and Bucharest, the capitals of the principalities, Prince 
Gortchakoff, the Russian Commander-in-Chief, suspended all legal rela¬ 
tions between the two vassals of the Porte and their sovereign. 

Turkey, in the meantime, concentrated her army along the Danube 
in Europe, and on the frontiers of Georgia in Asia; and in October 
the Sultan issued a declaration of war. Omar Pasha, the commander 
of the Turkish forces in Europe, addressed a letter to the Russian com¬ 
mander, requiring him to evacuate the principalities within two weeks; 
otherwise he would proceed to attack the Russian army. Gortchakoff* 















9G NICHOLAS I. TO ALEXANDER II. 

replied that he was under the imperial commands to maintain his posi¬ 
tion. Omar kept his word. In the latter part of October he crossed 
the Danube at several points. The Ottomans seized the island of Kala- 
vatsh, as well as the strong point of Oltenitza on the left side of the 
river. In Asia they seized Nicolaiev and several other fortified places; 
and fought a battle at Batrum, in which both parties claimed a victory. 

On the water, the Ottoman cause suffered a great disaster. On the 
30th of November, a Turkish fleet, conveying warlike stores to the 
Asiatic coast, entered the harbor of Sinope, where they were attacked by 
a Russian squadron. After a contest of about three hours, the Turkish 
vessels were destroyed. The guns of the Russian squadron were then 
turned upon the town of Sinope, which they reduced to ashes. 

The intelligence of this affair created great excitement, not only at 
Constantinople, but in Paris and London. The allied fleets were im¬ 
mediately ordered to enter the Black Sea for the purpose of affording 
protection to the Porte. 

On the Danube fresh engagements took place, which resulted favor¬ 
ably for the Turks. On the 6th of January, 1854, they attacked the 
advanced guard of the Russian army near Citale, and followed up the 
advantage there gained for three days in succession, finally routing 
their adversaries entirely, and driving them back upon Krajova. The 
Turks then retired to Kalavatsh. 

War was now fairly enkindled between Russia and the Porte. The 
Emperor Nicholas calculated on the subserviency of Germany, the dis¬ 
turbed state of France, and the connivance of England, to which he 
offered Egypt as her share of “the sick man’s” inheritance, for the 
success of his plans. But England was not ambitious of further acqui¬ 
sitions; Turkey claimed her assistance on the faith of treaties; and 
France, now under the absolute sway of Napoleon III., united with 
Great Britain to crush out the designs of Russia. Austria and Prussia 
stood aloof; but a combined English and French fleet proceeded to the 
Black Sea, and shut up the Russians in the harbor of Sebastopol. 

Negotiations with Russia were continued during the winter, but, 
having failed, war was declared against her by England and France 
in the spring, when a French army under Marshal St. Arnaud, and an 
English one under Lord Raglan, assembled at Varna in Turkey, while 
an English fleet under Sir Charles Napier was despatched to the Baltic. 
The gallant defence of the Turks on the banks of the Danube having 


NICHOLAS /. TO ALEXANDER //. 


97 



«• 


An Ambulance Train in Servia Attacked by Wolves, 

dissipated all alarm in that quarter, it was determined, toward the end 
of summer, to transport the allied army from Varna to the Crimea, 
and to attack Sebastopol. They were landed without opposition, Sep¬ 
tember 14th, at Eupatoria, on the west coast of the Crimea. Prince 
Menchikoff, who had command of Sebastopol, had posted a force of 
about sixty thousand men on the heights which crown the left bank of 
the little river Alma, in order to oppose their advance on that fortress, 
and he had fortified this naturally strong position with great care, so 
that he confidently reckoned on holding it at least three weeks; but it 
was carried after a few hours’ fight, on September 20th, by the allied 
armies, though with considerable loss. The Russians flung away their 
arms and fltd ; many of their guns were captured, together with Men- 
chikoff’s carriage and despatches, and nothing saved their army from 
annihilation but the want of cavalry to pursue it. It is probable that, 
had the allies been in a condition to move forward immediately, they 
might have entered Sebastopol along with the flying enemy; but the 
care of the wounded and the burial of the dead occasioned some delay. 
The march was then directed toward the harbor of Balaklava, the 
ancient Partus Symbolon to the south of Sebastopol, which enabled 
7 























98 


NICHOLAS I. TO ALEXANDER II 


the army to derive its supplies from the sea. The southern heights of 
Sebastopol were occupied, aud preparations made for a siege. This 
was rendered difficult by the rocky nature of the soil, and it was not 
till October 17th that the allies were able to open their fire upon the 
place. The Russians had availed themselves of the interval to fortify 
it with great skill, and the large fleet shut up in the harbor assisted 
them with the means of defence. 

This siege lasted nearly a year, and became one of the most memo¬ 
rable in history. Soon after its commencement a Russian army of 
30,000 men, under Liprandi, endeavored to raise it by an attack upon 
Balaklava (October 25th), but which, after a severe struggle, was 
repulsed. 

On November 5th, the Russians having been reinforced, made an 
assault upon the British position at Inkermann. Advancing early in 
the morning under cover of a fog, they took the garrison by surprise; 
but the British held their ground till General Canrobert, who had suc¬ 
ceeded to the command of the French army after the death of St. 
Arnaud, sent a division to their assistance. The Russians were now 
hurled down the heights, while the-artillery made terrible havoc in 
their serried ranks. After this catastrophe the Russians were cautious 
of venturing another battle; but the defence of the town was con¬ 
ducted with skill and obstinacy, and many desperate sorties took 
place. Attempts were made by the fleet upon the seaward batteries, 
but they were found to be impregnable. 

It was thought that the death of the Emperor Nicholas, which 
occurred somewhat suddenly, might have led to the reestablishment 
of peace; but the war was continued under his son and successor, 
Alexander. Its interest was principally concentrated at Sebastopol. 
The Baltic fleet, under Admiral Napier, though reinforced by a French 
squadron, had effected nothing except the destruction of the fortress 
of Bomarsund in the Aland Islands. The Black Sea fleet was more 
successful. A squadron, under Lyons, proceeded into the Sea of Azov, 
captured Kertch, Yenikale, and other towns, destroying vast granaries 
from which the Russians chiefly derived their supplies, thus hastening 
the surrender of Sebastopol. 

On the 5th of September the general and final bombardment took 
place. On the 8th an assault was deemed practicable, and the French 
effected a lodgment in the fort or tower called the Malakoff. The 


NICHOLAS 1. TO ALEXANDER II. 


99 


English storming-party also succeeded in gaining possession of the fort 
called the Redan, but were obliged ultimately to retire. The posses¬ 
sion of the Malakoff, however, which commanded the town, decided its 
late, and in the course of the night the Russians evacuated the place. 

The allied armies established their winter quarters amid the ruins 
of Sebastopol, and, had the war proceeded, there can be little doubt 
that the whole of the Crimea would have fallen into their hands; but 
negotiations for peace, begun under the mediation of Austria, were 
brought to a conclusion in January, 1856. The Russian Protectorate 
in the Danubian principalities was abolished; the freedom of the 
Danube and its mouths was established; both Russian and Turkish 
ships of war were banished from the Black Sea, except a few small 
vessels necessary as a maritime police; and the Christian subjects of 
the Porte were placed under the protection of the contracting powers. 
On these bases a definitive treaty of peace was signed with Russia at 
Paris, March 30, 1856. 

The most creditable act of the present Czar was the emancipation of 
the serfs—an act which he performed in 1861 in the face of the most 
intense opposition. To him thirty millions of people owe their deliver¬ 
ance from a servitude which they had suffered for two and a half 
centuries. 

Czar Alexander II. has during his administration displayed most 
commendable courage and persistency in carrying out great reforms. 
He has encouraged the advancement of the arts and sciences, fostered 
the building of railway and telegraph lines in his dominions, and has 
steadily kept in view the happiness and prosperity of his people. With¬ 
out granting absolute civil and religious liberty, he has yet abolished 
many of the restrictions which existed during his father’s reign. 

The recent events which have precipitated the present war will be 
fully detailed in their appropriate place. 


100 


THE RUSSIA* PEASANTRY, 


CHAPTER IV. 

THE RUSSIAN PEASANTRY. 

If it were possible to get a bird’s-eye view of European Russia, the 
spectator would perceive that the country is composed of two halves, 
widely differing from each other in character. The northern half is a 
land of forest and morass, plentifully supplied with water in the form 
of rivers, lakes, and marshes, and broken up by numerous patches of 
cultivation. The southern half is, as it were, the other side of the 
pattern—an immense expanse of rich arable land, broken up by occa¬ 
sional patches of sand or forest. The imaginary undulating line sepa¬ 
rating those two regions starts from the western frontier about the 
fiftieth parallel of latitude, and runs in a northeasterly direction till it 
enters the Ural range at about fifty-six degrees north latitude. 

In the present chapter we shall endeavor to give a brief description 
of the inhabitants of the northern half of the country. 

Nearly the whole of the female population, and about one-half of 
the male inhabitants, are habitually engaged in cultivating the Com¬ 
munal land. The arable part of this land is divided in each village 
into three large fields, each of which is cut up into long narrow strips. 
The first field is reserved for the winter grain—that is to say, rye, 
which forms, in the shape of black bread, the principal food of the 
peasantry. In the second are raised oats for the horses, and buck¬ 
wheat, which is largely used for food. The third lies fallow, and is 
used in the summer as pasturage for the cattle. 

All the villagers divide the arable land in this way, in order to suit 
the triennial rotation of crops. This triennial system is extremely 
simple. The field which is used this year for raising winter grain will be 
used next year for raising summer grain, and in the following year will 
lie fallow. Before being sown with winter grain it ought to receive a 
certain amount of manure. Every family possesses in each of the two 
I elds under cultivation one or more of the long, narrow strips or belts 
mto which they are divided. 

The annual life of the peasantry is that of simple husbandmen, in¬ 
habiting a country where the winter is long and severe. The agricul- 


The Fortress of Trebizond, Asia Minor. 


THE RUSSIAN PEASANTRY, 






mm. 


101 




















































































































































• 102 


THE RUSSIAN PEASANTRY. 


tural year begins in April with the melting of the snow. Nature has 
been lying dormant for some months. Awaking now from her long 
sleep, and throwing off her white mantle, she strives to make up for 
lost time. No sooner has the snow disappeared than the fresh young 
grass begins to shoot up, and very soon afterwards the shrubs and 
trees begin to bud. The rapidity of this transition from winter to 
spring astonishes the inhabitants of more temperate climes. 

On St. George’s Day (April 23d), the cattle are brought out for the 
first time and sprinkled with holy water by the priest. The cattle of 
the Russian peasantry are never very fat, but at this period of the 
year their appearance is truly lamentable. During the winter they 
have been cooped up in small unventilated cow-houses, and fed almost 
exclusively on straw ; now, when they are released from their imprison¬ 
ment, they look like the ghosts of their former emaciated selves. All 
are lean and weak, many are lame, and some cannot rise to their feet 
without assistance. 

Meanwhile the peasants are impatient to begin the field labor. An 
old proverb which they all know says: “ Sow in mud and you will be 
a prince;” and they always act in accordance with this dictate of 
traditional wisdom. As soon as it is possible to plow they begin to 
prepare the land for the summer grain, and this labor occupies them 
probably till the end of May. Then comes the work of carting out 
manure and preparing the fallow field for the winter grain, which will 
last probably till about St. Peter’s Day (June 29th), when the hay¬ 
making generally begins. After the hay-making comes the harvest, 
by far the busiest time of the year. From the middle of July until 
the end of August, the peasant may work day and night, and yet he 
will find that he has barely time to get all his work done. In little 
more than a month he has to reap and stack his grain—rye, oats, and 
whatever else he may have sown either in spring or in the preceding 
autumn—and to sow the winter grain for next year. To add to his 
troubles, it sometimes happens that the rye and the oats ripen almost 
simultaneously, and his position is then still more difficult than usual. 

Whether the seasons favor him or not, the peasant has at this time 
a hard task, for he can rarely afford to hire the requisite number of 
laborers, and has generally the assistance merely of his wife and family •, 
but he can at this season work for a short time at high pressure, for he 
lias the prospect of soon obtaining a good rest and an abundance of 


THE RUSSIAN PEASANTRY. 


103 


food. About the end of September the field labor is finished, and on 
the first day of October the harvest festival begins—a joyous season, 
during which the parish fetes are commonly celebrated. 

To celebrate a parish fete in true orthodox fashion it is necessary to 
prepare beforehand a large quantity of braga —a kind of home-brewed 
small beer—and to bake a plentiful supply of piroghi or pies. Oil, 
too, has to be procured, and vodka (rye spirit) in goodly quantity. At 
the same time the big room of the izba, as the peasant’s house is called, 
has to be cleared, the floor washed, and the table and benches scrubbed. 
The evening before the fete, while the piroghi are being baked, a little 
lamp burns before the Icon in the corner of the room, and perhaps one 
or two guests from a distance arrive in order that they may have on 
the morrow a full day’s enjoyment. 

On the morning of the fete the proceedings begin by a long service 
in the church, at which all the inhabitants are present in their best 
holiday costumes, except those matrons and young women who remain 
at home to prepare the dinner. About mid-day dinner is served in 
each izba for the family and their friends. In general the Russian 
peasant’s fare is of the simplest kind, and rarely comprises animal food 
of any sort—not from any vegetarian proclivities, but merely because 
beef, mutton, and pork are too expensive; but on a holiday, such as a 
parish fete, there is always on the dinner-table a considerable variety 
of dishes. In the house of a well-to-do peasant there will be not only 
greasy cabbage-soup and kasha —a dish made from buckwheat—but 
also pork, mutton, and perhaps even beef. Braga will be supplied 
in unlimited quantities, and more than once vodka will be handed 
round. When the repast is finished, all rise together, and turning 
towards the Icon in the corner, bow and cross themselves repeatedly. 
The guests then say to their host, “ Spazibo za klileb za sol ”—that is to 
say, “ Thanks for your hospitality,” or more literally, “ Thanks for 
bread and saltand the host replies, “ Do not be displeased, sit down 
once more for good luck”—or perhaps he puts the last part of his 
request in the form of a rhyming couplet to the following effect: “ Sit 
down, that the hens may brood, and that the chickens and bees may 
Uiultiply!” All obey this request, and there is another round of 
vodka. 

After dinner some stroll about, chatting with their friends, or go to 
sleep in some shady nook, whilst those who wish to make merry go to 


104 


THE RUSSIAN PEASANTRY. 


the spot where the young people are singing, playing, and amusing 
themselves in various ways. As the sun sinks towards the horizon, the 
more grave, staid guests wend their way homewards, but many remrin 
for supper; and as evening advances the effect of the vodka becomes 
more and more apparent. Sounds of revelry are heard more frequently 
from the houses, and a large proportion of the inhabitants and guests 
appear on the road in various degrees of intoxication. Some of these 
vow eternal affection to their friends, or with flaccid gestures and in 
incoherent tones harangue invisible audiences; others stagger about 
aimlessly in besotted self-contentment, till they drop down in a state 
of complete unconsciousness. There they will lie tranquilly till they 
are picked up by their less intoxicated friends, or more probably till 
they awake of their own accord on the next morning. 

If the Russian peasant’s food were always as good and plentiful as 
at this season of the year, he would have little reason to complain; but 
this is by no means the case. Gradually, as the harvest-time recedes, 
it deteriorates in quality, and sometimes diminishes in quantity. Besides 
this, during a great part of the year the peasant is prevented from 
using much that he possesses by the rules of the Church. 

In southern climes, where these rules were elaborated and first prac¬ 
ticed, the prescribed fasts are perhaps useful not only in a religious, 
but also in a sanitary sense. Having abundance of fruit and vegeta¬ 
bles, the inhabitants do well, perhaps, in abstaining occasionally from 
animal food. But in countries like Northern and Central Russia, the 
influence of these rules is very different. The Russian peasant cannot 
obtain as much animal food as he requires, whilst sour cabbage and 
cucumbers are probably the only vegetables he can procure, and fruit 
of any kind is for him an unattainable luxury. Under these circum¬ 
stances, abstinence from eggs and milk in all their forms during several 
months of the year seems to the secular mind a superfluous bit of 
asceticism. If the Church would direct her maternal solicitude to the 
peasant’s drinking, and leave him to eat what he pleases, she might 
exercise a beneficial influence on his material and moral welfare. Un¬ 
fortunately she has a great deal too much inherent immobility to do 
anything of the kind, and there is no reasonable probability of her ever 
arriving at the simple truth, for which there is very high authority, 
that rules and ordinances were made for man, and not man for the 
rules and ordinances. Meanwhile, the Russian peasant must fast 


THE RUSSIAN PEASANTRY. 


105 



Asiatic Reserves at Tift.is. 


during the seven weeks of Lent, during two or three weeks in June, 
from the beginning of November till Christmas, and on all Wednesdays 
and Fridays during the remainder of the year. 

From the festival time till the following spring there is no possibility 
of doing any agricultural work, for the ground is hard as iron, and 
covered with a deep layer of snow. The male peasants, therefore, who 
remain in the villages, have very little to do, and may spend the 
greater part of their time in lying idly on the stove, unless they happen 
to have learned some handicraft that can be practiced at home. For¬ 
merly, many of them were employed in transporting the grain to the 
market town, which might be several hundred miles distant; but now 
this species of occupation has been greatly diminished by the extension 
of railways. 

For the female part of the population winter is a busy time, for it is 
during these four or five months that the spinning and weaving have 
to be done. 

In many of the northern villages the tedium of the long winter 
























106 


THE RUSSIAN PEASANTRY. 


evenings is relieved by so-called Besyedy, a word which signifies liter¬ 
ally conversazioni. A Besyeda, however, is not exactly a conversa¬ 
zione as we understand the term, but resembles rather what is by some 
ladies called a Dorcas meeting, with this essential difference, that those 
present work for themselves and not for any benevolent purpose. In 
some villages as many as three Besyedy regularly assemble about sun¬ 
set : one for the children, the second for the young people, and the 
third for the matrons. Each of the three has its peculiar character. 
In the first, the children work and amuse themselves under the super¬ 
intendence of an old woman, who trims the torch and endeavors to 
keep order. The little girls spin flax in a primitive way without the 
aid of a “jenny,” and the boys, who are, on the whole, much less indus¬ 
trious, make rude shoes of plaited bark, or simple bits of wicker-work. 
These occupations do not prevent an almost incessant hum of talk, 
frequent discordant attempts to sing in chorus, and occasional quarrels 
requiring the energetic interference of the old woman who sits by the 
torch. To amuse her noisy flock she sometimes relates to them, for 
the hundredth time, one of those wonderful old stories that lose nothing 
by repetition, and all listen to her attentively, as if they had never 
heard the story before. The second Besyeda is held in another house 
by the young people of a riper age. Here the workers are naturally 
more staid, less given to quarreling, sing more in harmony, and require 
no one to look after them. Some people, however, might think that a 
chaperon or inspector of some kind would be by no means out of place, 
for a good deal of flirtation goes on, and, if village scandal is to be 
trusted, strict propriety in thought, word and deed is not always ob¬ 
served. How far these reports are true I cannot pretend to say, for 
the presence of a stranger always acts on the company like the presence 
of a severe inspector. In the third Besyeda there is always at least 
strict decorum. Here the married women work together and talk 
about their domestic concerns, enlivening the conversation occasionally 
by the introduction of little bits of village scandal. 

Such is the ordinary life of the peasants who live by agriculture; 
but many of the villagers live occasionally or permanently in the 
towns. Probably a majority of the peasants in this part of Russia 
have at some period of their lives gained a living in some other part 
of the country. Many of the absentees spend regularly a part of the 
year at home, whilst others visit their families only occasionally, and 


THE RUSSIAN PEASANTRY. 


107 


it may be, at long intervals. In no case, however, do they sever their 
connection with their native village. The artisan who goes to work in 
a distant town never takes his wife and family with him, and even the 
man who becomes a rich merchant in Moscow or St. Petersburg remains 
probably a member of the Village Commune, and pays his share of the 
taxes, though he does not enjoy any of the corresponding privileges. 

In respect to these non-agricultural occupations, each district has its 
specialty. The province of Yaroslaff, for instance, supplies the large 
towns with waiters for the lower class of restaurants, whilst the best 
hotels in Petersburg are supplied by the Tartars of Kasfmof, celebrated 
for their sobriety and honesty. One part of the province of Kostram£ 
has a special reputation for producing carpenters and stove-builders, 
whilst another part sends yearly to Siberia—not as convicts, but as free 
laborers—a large contingent of tailors and workers in felt! 

Very often the peasants find industrial occupations without leaving 
home, for various industries which do not require complicated machinery 
are practiced in the villages by the peasants and their families. Tex¬ 
tile fabrics, wooden vessels, wrought iron, pottery, leather, rush-matting, 
and numerous other articles are thus produced in enormous quantities. 
Occasionally will be found not only a whole village, but even a whole 
district occupied almost exclusively with some one kind of manual 
industry. In the province of Vladimir, for example, a large group of 
villages live by Icon-painting; in one locality near Nizhni, nineteen 
villages are occupied with the manufacture of axes; round about Pav- 
lovo, in the same province, eighty villages produce almost nothing but 
cutlery; and in a locality called Ouloma, on the borders of Novgorod 
and Tver, no less than two hundred villages live by nail-making. 

These domestic industries have long existed, and have hitherto been 
an abundant source of revenue—providing a certain compensation for 
the poverty of the soil. But at present they are in a very critical 
position. They belong to the primitive period of economic develop¬ 
ment, and that period in Russia is now rapidly drawing to a close. 
Formerly the Head of a Household bought the raw material, and sold 
with a reasonable profit the manufactured articles at the “ Bazaars,” as 
the local fairs are called, or perhaps at the great annual Fair of Nizhni- 
Novgorod. This primitive system is now rapidly becoming obsolete. 
Great factories are quickly multiplying, and it is difficult for manual 
labor, unassisted by machinery, to compete with them. Besides this, 



108 


THE RUSSIAN PEASANTRY. 


the periodical Bazaars and Fairs at which producers and consumers 
transacted their affairs without mediation, are being gradually replaced 
by permanent stores and various classes of middle-men, who facilitate 
the relations between consumers and producers. In a word, capital 
and wholesale enterprise have come into the field, and are revolutioniz¬ 
ing the old methods of production and trade. Many of those who 
formerly worked at home on their own account are now forced to enter 
the great factories and work for fixed weekly or monthly wages; and 
nearly all who still work at home now receive the raw material on 
credit, and deliver the manufactured articles to wholesale merchants at 
a stipulated price. 

If we draw a wavy line eastward from a point a little to the north 
of St. Petersburg, we shall have between that line and the Polar 
Ocean what may be regarded as a distinct, peculiar region, differing 
in many respects from the rest of Russia. Throughout the whole of 
it the climate is very severe. For about half of the year the ground 
is covered by deep snow, and the rivers covered with ice. By far the 
greater part of the surface is occupied by forests of pine, fir, larch, 
and birch, or by vast, unfathomable morasses. The arable land and 
pasturage taken together form only about one and a half per cent, of 
the area. The population is scarce—little more than one to the 
square mile—and settled chiefly along the banks of the rivers. The 
peasantry support themselves by fishing, hunting, felling and floating 
timber, preparing tar and charcoal, cattle-bi eeding, and, in the extreme 
north, by breeding reindeer. 

These are their chief occupations, but they do not entirely neglect 
agriculture. Their summer is short, but they make the most of it by 
means of a peculiar and ingenious mode of farming, which, though it 
may seem strange, not to say absurd, to the American farmer, is well 
adapted to the peculiar local conditions. The peasant knows of course 
nothing about agricultural chemistry, but he, as well as his fore¬ 
fathers, have observed that if wood be burnt on a field, and the ashes 
be mixed with the soil, the probable result is a good harvest. On this 
simple principle his system of farming is based. When spring comes 
round and the leaves begin to appear on the trees, a band of peasants, 
armed with their hatchets, proceed to some spot in the woods previously 
fixed upon. Here they begin to make a clearing. This is no easy 
matter, for tree-felling is hard and tedious work; but the process does 


THE RUSSIAN PEASANTRY. 


109 



The Czar Designating Additions to the Regular Army. 


not take so much time as might be expected, for the workmen have 
been brought up to the trade, and wield their axes with marvelous 
dexterity. Besides this, they contrive, it is said, to use fire as an 
assistant. When they have felled all the trees, great and small, they 
return to their homes, and think no more about their clearing till the 
autumn, when they return, in order to strip the fallen trees of their 
branches, to pick out what they require for building purposes or fire¬ 
wood, and to pile up the remainder in heaps. The logs for building 
or firewood are dragged away by horses as soon as the first fall of 
snow has made a good slippery road, but the piles are allowed to 
remain till the following spring, when they are stirred up with long 
poles and ignited. The flames first appear at several points, and then, 
with the help of the dry grass and chips, rapidly spread in all direc¬ 
tions till they join together, and form a gigantic bonfire, such as is 
never seen in more densely populated countries. If the fire does its 
work properly, the whole of the space is covered with a layer of ashes; 





































110 


THE RUSSIAN PEASANTRY. 


and when these have been slightly mixed with soil by means of a 
light plow, the seed is sown. 

On the field prepared in this original fashion is sown barley, rye, or 
flax; and the harvests, nearly always good, sometimes border on the 
miraculous. Barley or rye may be expected to produce about sixfold 
in ordinary years, and they may produce as much as thirty-fold under 
peculiarly favorable circumstances. The fertility is, however, short¬ 
lived. If the soil is poor and stony, not more than two crops can be 
raised; but if it is of a better quality, it may give tolerable harvests 
for six or seven successive years. In most countries this would be an 
absurdly expensive way of manuring, for wood is much too valuable a 
commodity to be used for such a purpose; but in this northern region 
the forests are boundless, and in the districts where there is no river or 
stream by which timber may be floated, the trees not used in this way 
rot from old age. Under these circumstances the system is reasonable, 
but it must be admitted that it does not give a very large return for 
the amount of labor expended, and in bad seasons it gives almost no 
return at all. 

The other sources of revenue are scarcely less precarious. With his 
gun and a little parcel of provisions, the peasant wanders about in the 
trackless forests, and too often returns after many days with a very 
light bag; or he starts in autumn for some distant lake, and comes 
back after five or six weeks with nothing better than perch and pike. 
Sometimes he tries his luck at deep-sea fishing. In this case he starts 
in February—probably on foot—for Kem, situated on the shore of the 
White Sea, or perhaps for the more distant Kola, situated on a small 
river which falls into the Arctic Ocean. There, in company with 
three or four others, he starts on a fishing cruise along the Murman 
coast, or, it may be, off the coast of Spitzbergen. His gains will 
depend on the amount caught, for it is a joint-venture; but in no case 
can they be very great, for three-fourths of the fish brought into port 
belong to the owner of the craft and tackle. Of the sum realized he 
brings home perhaps only a small part, for he has a strong temptation 
to buy rum, tea, and other luxuries, which are very dear in those 
northern latitudes. If the fishing is good and he resists temptation, he 
may save as much as one hnndred roubles—about sixty dollars—and 
thereby live comfortably all winter; but if the fishing season is bad, 
he may find himself at the end of it not only with empty pockets, but 



THE RUSSIAN PEASANTRY. 


Ill 


in debt to the owner of the boat. This debt he may pay off, if he has 
a horse, by transporting the dried fish to Kargopol, St. Petersburg, or 
some other market. 

Perhaps the best way to convey an idea of peasant life in this region 
is to give a family budget which we happen to have at hand. The 
family consisted of five members: two able-bodied males, one boy, and 
two women. The year was, on the whole, a good one; for though the 
fishing was not as successful as it might have been, the harvest was 
much more plentiful than usual, and supplied the family -with food for 
five months. The following table shows the revenue and expenditure 
in United States money: 


REVENUE. 

Sold ioo pairs of Gelinottes and other Game, at 12^ cents per pair . $12.50 


Sold 200 lbs. of Caviar, at 6 ]^ cents per lb.12.50 

Sold Dried Fish. 6.25 

Sold Herrings and other Sea Fish.16.25 

Miscellanea (perhaps from felling timber). ... 13-75 

$61.25 

EXPENDITURE. 

Rye Meal (2,240 lbs.), to supply the deficit of the harvest .... $35.00 

Taxes. 11.25 

Clothes and Boots.12.50 

Fishing Tackle, Powder and Shot, etc. 2.50 

$61.25 


The above budget must not be regarded as anything more than a 
possibility, but it may perhaps assist the reader who desires to gain at 
least a vague notion of peasant life throughout a large part of Northern 
Russia. 











112 


TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA . 


CHAPTER V. 

TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA. 

Travelling in Russia is no longer what it was. During the last 
quarter of a century a vast network of railways has been constructed,, 
and one can now travel in a comfortable first-class carriage from 
Berlin to St. Petersburg or Moscow, and thence to Odessa, Sebastopol, 
the lower Volga, or even the foot of the Caucasus; and, on the whole, 
the railways are tolerably comfortable, and the cars are kept warm by 
small iron stoves, assisted by double windows and double doors—a 
very necessary precaution in a land where the thermometer often 
descends to thirty degrees below zero. The trains never attain, it is 
true, a high rate of speed ; but then we must remember that Russians 
are rarely in a hurry, and like to have frequent opportunities of 
eating and drinking. In Russia time is not money; if it were, nearly 
all the subjects of the Czar would always have a large stock of ready 
money on hand, and would often have great difficulty in spending it. 
In reality, a Russian with a superabundance of ready money is a 
phenomenon rarely met with in actual life. 

In conveying passengers at the rate of from fifteen to thirty miles 
an hour, the railway companies do at least all that they promise; but 
in one very important respect they do not always strictly fulfill their 
engagements. The traveller takes a ticket for a certain town, and on 
arriving at what he imagines to be his destination, he may find merely 
a railway station surrounded by fields. On making inquiries, he finds, 
to his disappointment, that the station is by no means identical with 
the town bearing the same name, and that the railway has fallen 
several miles short of fulfilling the bargain, as he understood the terms 
of the contract. Indeed, it might almost be said that as a general 
rule railways in Russia, like camel-drivers in certain Eastern countries, 
studiously avoid the towns. This seems at first a strange fact. It is 
possible to conceive that the Bedouin is so enamored of tent life and 
nomadic habits, that he shuns a town as he would a man-trap; but 
surely civil engineers and railway contractors have no such dread of 
brick and mortar. The true reason, probably, is that land within or 




TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA . 












114 


TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA. 


immediately outside the municipal barrier is relatively dear, and that 
the railways, being completely beyond the invigorating influence of j 
healthy competition, can afford to look upon the comfort and con¬ 
venience of passengers as a secondary consideration. 

In one celebrated instance neither engineers nor railway contractors 
were to blame. From St. Petersburg to Moscow the locomotive runs 
for a distance of four hundred miles, almost as “ the crow” is supposed 
to fly, turning neither to the right hand nor to the left. For fifteen * | 
weary hours the passenger in the express train looks out on forest and 
morass, and rarely catches sight of human habitation. And why was 
the railway constructed in this extraordinary fashion? For the best 
of all reasons—because the Czar so ordered it. When the preliminary 
survey was being made, Nicholas learned that the officers intrusted 
with the task were being influenced more by personal than technical 
considerations, and he determined to cut the Gordian knot in true 
Imperial style. When the Minister laid before him the map with the' 
intention of explaining the proposed route, he took a ruler, drew a 
straight line from the one terminus to the other and remarked in a 
tone that precluded all discussion, “ You will construct the line so!” 
And the line was so constructed—remaining to all future ages, like 
St. Petersburg and the Pyramids, a magnificent monument of autocratic 
power. 

Formerly this well-known incident was often cited to illustrate the 
evils of the autocratic form of government. Imperial whims, it was 
said, over-ride grave economic considerations. In recent years, how¬ 
ever, this so-called Imperial whim is regarded as an act of far-seeing 
policy. As by far the greater part of the goods and passengers are 
carried the whole length of the line, it is well that the line should be 
as short as possible, and that branch lines should be constructed to the 
towns lying to the right and left. Apart from political considerations, 
it must be admitted that a good deal may be said in support of this 
view. 

In the development of the railway system there has been another 
disturbing cause. In America, individuals and companies habitually 
act according to their private interests, and the State interferes only 
when the authorities can prove that important bad consequences will 
necessarily result. In Russia, the burden of proof lies on the other 
side; private enterprise is allowed to do nothing until it gives guaran- 


TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA . 


115 


tees against all possible bad consequences. When any great enterprise 
is projected, the first question is—“ How will this new scheme affect 
the interests of the State?” Thus, when the course of a new railway 
has to be determined, the military authorities are always consulted, 
and their opinion has a great influence on the ultimate decision. The 
consequence of this is that the railway-map of Russia presents to the 
eye of the tactician much that is quite unintelligible to the ordinary 
observer—a fact that will become apparent to the uninitiated as the 
war in Eastern Europe progresses. Russia is no longer what she was 
in the days of the Crimean War, when troops and stores had to be 
conveyed hundreds of miles by the most primitive means of transport. 
At that time she had only about seven hundred and fifty miles of 
railway; now she has more than eleven thousand miles, and every 
year new lines are constructed. 

The water-communication has likewise in recent years been greatly, 
improved. On all the principal rivers there are now tolerably good 
steamers. Unfortunately, the climate puts serious obstructions in the 
way of navigation. For nearly half of the year the rivers are covered 
with ice, and during a great part of the open season navigation is 
difficult. When the ice and snow melt, the rivers overflow their banks 
and lay a great part of the low-lying country under water, so that 
many villages can only be approached in boats; but very soon the 
flood subsides, and the water falls so rapidly, that by midsummer the 
larger steamers have great difficulty in picking their way among the 
sand-banks. 

On these steamers one meets with curious travelling companions. 
The majority of the passengers are Russian peasants, who are always 
ready to chat freely without demanding a formal introduction, and to 
relate to a new acquaintance the simple story of their lives. Many 
weary hours may thus be whiled away both pleasantly and profitably, 
and one is impressed with the peasant’s homely common sense, good- 
natured kindliness, half-fatalistic resignation, and strong desire to 
learn something about foreign countries. This last peculiarity makes 
him question as well as communicate, and his questions, though some¬ 
times apparently childish, are generally to the point. Among the 
passengers might also be seen some representatives of the various 
Finnish tribes inhabiting this country, but they are far less sociable 
than the Russians. Nature seems to have made them silent and 


116 


TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA. 


morose, whilst their conditions of life have made them shy and dis¬ 
trustful. The Tartar, on the other hand, is almost sure to be a lively 
and amusing companion. Most probably he is a peddler or small 
trader of some kind. The bundle on which he reclines contains his 
stock in trade, composed of cotton, printed goods and bright colored 
handkerchiefs. He himself is enveloped in a capacious greasy khalat, 
or dressing-gown, and wears a fur cap, though the thermometer may 
be at ninety degrees in the shade. The roguish twinkle in his small 
piercing eyes contrasts strongly with the sombre, stolid expression of 
the Finnish peasants sitting near him. He has much to relate about 
St. Petersburg, Moscow, and perhaps Astrakhan; but, like a genuine 
trader, he is very reticent regarding the mysteries of his own craft. 
Towards sunset he retires with his companions to some quiet spot on 
the deck to recite the evening prayers. Here all the good Mahometans 
on board assemble and stroke their beards, kneel on theirTittle strips 
of carpet and prostrate themselves, all keeping time as if they were 
performing some new kind of drill under the eye of a severe drill- 
sergeant. 

If the voyage is made about the end of September, when the traders 
are returning home from the fair at Nizhni-Novgorod, the traveller 
will then find not only representatives of the Finnish and Tartar races, 
but also Armenians, Circassians, Persians, Bokhariots, and other 
Orientals—a motley and picturesque but decidedly unsavory cargo. 

In the item of hotel accommodations, the Russians are far behind 
the other nations of Europe. The cities where foreigners most do con¬ 
gregate—-St. Petersburg, Moscow, Odessa—possess hotels that will 
bear comparison with those of Western Europe, and some of the more 
important provincial towns can offer very respectable accommodation; 
but there is still much to be done before those accustomed to the usages 
of civilized society can travel with comfort even on the principal routes. 
Cleanliness, the first and most essential element of comfort, is a rare 
commodity, and often cannot be procured at any price. 

Even in good hotels, when they are of the genuine Russian type, 
there are certain peculiarities which, though not in themselves objection- 
abb, strike a foreigner as peculiar. Thus, when you alight at such an 
hotel, you are expected to examine a considerable number of rooms, and 
to inquire about the respective prices. When you have fixed upon a 
suitable apartment, you will do well, if you wish to practice economy, 


TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA. 


117 



Mounted Oriental Soldiers. 


to propose to the landlord considerably less than he demands; and you 
will generally find, if you have a talent for bargaining, that the rooms 
may be hired for somewhat less than the sum first stated. You must 
be careful, however, to leave no possibility of doubt as to the terms of 
the contract. Perhaps you assume that, as in taking a cab a horse is 
always supplied -without special stipulation, so in hiring a bedroom the 
bargain includes a bed and the necessary appurtenances. Such an 
assumption will not always be justified. The landlord may perhaps 
give you a bedstead without extra charge, but if he be uncorrupted by 
foreign notions, he will certainly not spontaneously supply you with 
bed-linen, pillow, blankets, and towels. On the contrary, he will 
assume that you carry all these articles with you, and if you do not, 
you must pay for those which you borrow from him. 

This ancient custom has produced among certain Russians a curious 




118 


TRAVELLING LN RUSS/A. 


kind of fastidiousness to which we are strangers. .They strongly dislike 
using sheets, blankets, and towels which are in a certain sense public 
property, just as we should strongly object to putting on clothes which 
had been already worn by other people. 

The inconvenience of carrying about these essential articles of bed¬ 
room furniture is by no means so great as may at first sight be supposed. 
Bedrooms in Russia are always heated during cold weather, so that one 
light blanket, which may be used also as a railway rug, is quite suffi¬ 
cient, whilst sheets, pillow-cases, and towels take up very little space 
in a portmanteau. The most cumbrous object is the pillow, for air- 
cushions, having always a disagreeable odor, are not well suited for the 
purpose. But Russians are accustomed to this incumbrance. In for¬ 
mer days—as at the present time in those parts of the country where 
there are neither railways nor macadamized roads—people travelled in 
carts or carriages without springs, and in these instruments of torture 
a huge pile of cushions or pillows is necessary to avoid contusions and 
dislocations. On the railways, the jolts and shakings are not deadly 
enough to require such an antidote; but, even in unconservative Russia, 
customs outlive the conditions that created them ; and. at every railway 
station may be seen men and women carrying about their pillows with 
them as we carry wraps and hat-boxes. A genuine Russian merchant 
who loves comfort and respects tradition may travel without a port¬ 
manteau, but he considers his pillow as an indispensable accompani¬ 
ment. 

The negotiations with the landlord being completed, the waiter pre¬ 
pares to perform the duties of valet de chambre. Formerly, every well¬ 
born Russian had a valet always in attendance, and never dreamed of 
doing for himself anything which could by any possibility be done for 
him. It will be noticed that there is no bell in the room, and po 
mechanical means of communicating with the world below stairs. That 
is because the attendant is supposed to be always within call, and it is 
so much easier to shout than to get up and ring the bell. 

When the toilet operations are completed, and tea is ordered—one 
always orders tea in Russia—the guest will be asked whether he has 
his own tea and sugar with him. If he is an experienced traveller he 
will be able to reply in the affirmative, for good tea can be bought only 
in certain well-known shops, and can never be found in hotels. A 
huge steaming tea-urn, called a “Samovar”—etymologically, a “self- 


TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA. 


119 


boiler ’ will be brought in, and he can make his tea according to his 
taste. 

These and similar remnants of old customs are now rapidly disappear¬ 
ing, and will, doubtless, in a very few years be things of the past— 
things to be picked up in out-of-the-way corners, and chronicled by 
social archaeology; but they are still to be found in the best hotels in 
some of the Russian towns. 

Many of these old customs, and especially the old method of travel¬ 
ling, may still be studied in all their pristine purity throughout a great 
part of the country. Though railway construction has been pushed 
forward with great energy during the last twenty years the fire-horse 
has not yet crossed the Ural; and in what may be called Cis-Uralia, 
there are still vast regions where the ancient solitudes have never 
been disturbed by the shrill whistle of the locomotive, and roads have 
remained in their primitive condition. Even in the central region one 
may still travel hundreds of miles without ever encountering anything 
that recalls the name of Macadam. 

The roads are nearly all of the unmade, natural kind, and are so 
conservative in their nature that they have at the present day precisely 
the same appearance as they had many centuries ago. The only per¬ 
ceptible change that takes place in them during a series of generations 
is that-the ruts shift their position. When these become so deep that 
fore-wheels can no longer fathom them, it becomes necessary to begin 
making a new pair of ruts to the right or left of the old ones; and as 
the roads are commonly of gigantic breadth, there is no difficulty in 
finding a place for the operation. How the old ones get filled up can¬ 
not easily be explained; but as in no part of the country are workmen 
seen engaged in road-repairing, it may be assumed that beneficent 
Nature somehow accomplishes the task without human assistance, either 
by means of alluvial deposits, or by some other cosmical action best 
known to physical geographers. 

The reader who has heard of the gigantic reforms that have been 
recently effected in Russia, may naturally be astonished to learn that 
the roads are still in such a disgraceful condition. But for this, as for 
everything else in the world, there is a good and sufficient reason. The 
country is still, comparatively speaking, thinly populated, and in many 
regions it is difficult, or practically impossible, to procure in sufficient 
quantity stone of any kind, and especially hard stone fit for road-making. 



120 


TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA. 


Besides this, when roads are made, the severity of the climate renders 
it difficult to keep them in good repair. 

When a long journey has to be undertaken through a region in 
wffiich there are no railways, there are several ways in which it may be 
effected. In former days, when time was of still less value than at 
present, many landed proprietors travelled with their own horses, and 
carried with them, in one or more capacious, lumbering vehicles, all 
that was required for the degree of civilization which they had attained; 
and their requirements were often considerable. The grand seigneur , 
for instance, who spent the greater part of his life amidst the luxury of 
the court society, naturally took with him all the portable elements of 
civilization. His baggage included, therefore, camp-beds, table-linen, 
silver plate, cooking utensils, and a French cook. The pioneers and 
part of the commissariat force were always sent on in advance, so that 
his Excellency found at each halting-place everything prepared for his 
arrival. The poor owner of a few dozen serfs dispensed, of course, with 
the elaborate commissariat department, and contented himself with such 
modest fare as could be packed in the holes tmd corners of a single 
Tarantass. 

It will be well to explain here, parenthetically, what a Tarantass is, 
for we shall often have occasion to use the word. It may be briefly 
defined as a phaeton without springs. The function of springs is im¬ 
perfectly fulfilled by two parallel wooden bars, placed longitudinally, 
on which is fixed the body of the vehicle. It is commonly drawn by 
three horses—a strong, fast trotter in the shafts, flanked on each side 
by a light, loosely-attached horse that goes along at a gallop. The 
points of the shaft are connected by the “ Duga,” which looks like a 
gigantic, badly-formed horseshoe rising high above the collar of the 
trotter. To the top of the Duga is attached the bearing-rein, and un¬ 
derneath the highest part of it is fastened a big bell, which may often 
be distinctly heard a mile off. The use of the bell is variously explained. 
Some say it is in order to frighten the wolves, and others that it is to 
avoid collisions on the narrow forest paths. But neither of these ex¬ 
planations is entirely satisfactory. It is used chiefly in summer, when 
there is no danger of an attack from wolves; and the number of bells 
is greater in the south, where there are no forests. Perhaps the origi¬ 
nal intention was to frighten away evil spirits; and the practice has 
been retained partly from unreasoning conservatism, and partly with a 


TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA. 


121 


view to lessen the chances of collisions. As the roads are noiselessly 
soft, and the drivers not always vigilant, the dangers of collision are 
considerably diminished by the ceaseless peal. Altogether, the Taran- 
tass is well adapted to the conditions in which it is used. By the 
curious way in which the horses are harnessed it recalls the war-chariot 
of ancient times. The horse in the shafts is compelled by the bearing- 
rein to keep his head high and straight before him—though the move¬ 
ment of his ears shows plainly that he would very much like to put it 
somewhere further away 
from the tongue of the 
bell—but the side horses 
gallop freely, turning their 
heads outwards in classical 
fashion. This position is 
assumed not from any 
sympathy on the part of 
these animals for the re¬ 
mains of classical art, but 
rather from the natural 
desire to keep a sharp eye 
on the driver. Every 
movement of his right hand 
they watch with close at¬ 
tention, and as soon as they 
discover any symptoms in¬ 
dicating an intention of 
using the whip, they im¬ 
mediately show a desire to 
quicken the pace. Now that the reader has gained some idea of 
what a Tarantass is, we may return to the modes of travelling 
through the regions which are not yet supplied with railways. 

However enduring and long-winded horses may be, they must be 
allowed sometimes, during a long journey, to rest and feed. Travel¬ 
ling with one’s own horses is therefore necessarily a slow operation, 
and is already antiquated. People who value their time prefer to 
make use of the Imperial Post-organization. On all the principal 
lines of communication there are regular post-stations, at from ten to 
twenty miles apart, where a certain number of horses and vehicles 



An Oriental Traveller. 












122 


TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA. 


are kept for the convenience of travellers. To enjoy the privileges 
of this arrangement, one has to apply to the proper authorities for a 
“ Podorozhnaya ”—a large sheet of paper stamped with the Imperial 
Eagle, and bearing the name of the recipient, the destination, and 
the number of horses to be supplied. In return for this document a 
small sum is paid for imaginary road-repairs; the rest of the sum is 
paid by installments at the respective stations. Armed with this docu¬ 
ment, the traveller goes to the post-station, and demands the requisite 
number of horses. The vehicle is a kind of Tarantass, but not such as 
we have just described. The essentials in both are the same, but those 
which the Imperial Government provides resemble an enormous cradle 
on wheels, rather than a phaeton. An armful of hay spread over the 
bottom of the wooden box is supposed to play the part of cushions. 
The traveller is expected to sit under the arched covering, and extend 
his legs so that the feet lie beneath the driver’s seat; but he will do 
well, unless the rain happens to be coming down in torrents, to get this 
covering unshipped, and travel without it. When used, it painfully 
curtails the little freedom of movement that one enjoys, and when he 
is shot upwards by some obstruction on the road, it is apt to arrest his 
ascent by giving him a violent blow on the top of the head. 

Any one who undertakes a journey of this kind should possess a 
well-knit, muscular frame and good tough sinews, capable of support¬ 
ing an unlimited amount of jolting and shaking; at the same time, he 
should be well inured to all the hardships and discomfort incidental to 
what is vaguely termed “ roughing it.” When he wishes to sleep in a 
post-station, he will find nothing softer than a wooden bench, unless he 
can induce the keeper to put for him on the floor a bundle of hay, which 
is perhaps softer, but on the whole more disagreeable than the deal 
board. Sometimes he will not even get the wooden bench, for in ordi¬ 
nary post-stations there is but one room for travellers, and the two 
benches—there are rarely more—may be already occupied. When he 
does obtain a bench, and succeeds in falling asleep, he must not be 
astonished if he is disturbed once or twice during the night by people 
who use the apartment as a waiting-room whilst the post-horses are 
being changed. These passers-by may even drink tea, chat, laugh, 
smoke, and make themselves otherwise disagreeable, utterly regardless 
of the sleepers. 

Another requisite for a journey in unfrequented districts is a know- 


TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA. 


123 


ledge of the language. It is popularly supposed that if one is familiar 
with French and German, he may travel anywhere in Russia. So far 
as the great cities are concerned, this is true, but beyond that it is a 
delusion. The Russian has not received from Nature the gift of 
tongues. Educated Russians often speak one or two foreign languages 
fluently, but the peasants know no language but their own, and it is 
with the peasantry that one comes in contact. And to converse freely 
with the peasant requires a considerable familiarity with the language— 
far more than is required for simply reading a book. Though there 
are few provincialisms, and all classes of the people use the same 
word—except the words of foreign origin, which are used only by the 
upper classes—the peasant always speaks in a more laconic and more 
idiomatic way than the educated man. 

In the winter months travelling is in some respects pleasanter than 
in summer, for snow and frost are great macadamizers. If the snow 
falls evenly, there is for some time the most delightful road that can 
be imagined. No jolts, no shaking, but a smooth, gliding motion, like 
that of a boat in calm water, and the horses gallop along as if totally 
unconscious of the sledge behind them. Unfortunately, this happy 
state of things does not last long. The road soon gets cut up, and 
deep transverse furrows are formed; and the sledge, as it crosses over 
them, bobs up and down like a boat in a chopping sea, with this im¬ 
portant difference, that the boat falls into a yielding liquid, whereas 
the sledge falls upon a solid substance, unyielding and unelastic. The 
shaking and jolting which result may readily be imagined. 

There are other discomforts, too, in winter travelling. So long as 
the air is perfectly still, the cold may be very intense without being 
disagreeable; but if a strong head wind is blowing, and the thermome¬ 
ter ever so many degrees below zero, driving in an open sledge is a 
very disagreeable operation, and noses may get frost-bitten without their 
owners perceiving the fact in time to take preventive measures. Then 
why not take covered sledges on such occasions ? For the simple 
reason that they are not to be had ; and if they could be procured, it 
would be well to avoid using them, for they are apt to produce some¬ 
thing very like sea-sickness. 






124 


THE NATIONAL CHURCH. 


CHAPTER VI. 

THE NATIONAL CHURCH. 

The Russians, though often described as an intensely religious peo¬ 
ple, are singularly indifferent to religious matters. Though uncom¬ 
promising adherents of the Greek Orthodox Church and accustomed 
to observe to a certain extent its rites and ceremonies, they appear to 
be free alike from deep religious feeling and from shallow religious 
cant. 

The educated classes, though warmly attached to their Church, 
are in general not at all “ religious ” in the sense in which we com¬ 
monly use the word. In Moscow, however, especially among those 
who are more or less tinged with Slavophil sentiment, there are many 
persons who evidently take a deep interest in ecclesiastical affairs, and 
regard Orthodoxy as one of the most essential elements of Russian 
nationality. According to this class, it is not possible to understand 
the past history and present condition of Russia without knowing the 
past history and actual condition of the National Church. We deem 
it advisable, therefore, to devote some attention to the subject in the 
present chapter. 

If the Popes did not succeed in realizing their grand design of cre¬ 
ating a vast European empire based on theocratic principles, they suc¬ 
ceeded at least in inspiring with a feeling of brotherhood and a vague- 
consciousness of common interest all the nations which acknowledged 
their spiritual supremacy. These nations, whilst remaining politically 
independent and frequently coming into hostile contact with each other, 
all looked to Rome as the capital of the Christian world, and to the 
Pope as the highest terrestrial authority. Though the Church did not 
annihilate nationality, it made a wide breach in the political barriers, 
and formed a channel for international communication, by which the 
social and intellectual progress of each nation became known to all the 
other members of the great Christian confederacy. Throughout the 
length and breadth of the Papal Commonwealth, educated men had a 
common language, a common literature, a common scientific method, 
and to a certain extent a common jurisprudence. Western Christen- 


THE NATIONAL CHURCH. 


125 



dora was thus not merely an abstract conception or a geographical 
expression ; if not a political, it was at least a religious and intellectual 
unit. 

For centuries Russia stood outside of this religious and intellectual 
confederation, for her Church connected her not with Rome but with 
Constantinople, and Papal Europe looked upon her as belonging to the 
fbarbarous East. When the Tartar hosts swept over her plains, burnt 
her towns and villages, and finally incorporated her into the Great 
Mongol Empire, the so-called Christian world took no interest in the 
struggle except in so far as its own safety was threatened. And as 
time wore on, the barriers which separated the two great sections of 
Christendom became more and more formidable. The aggressive pre¬ 
tensions and ambitious schemes of the Vatican produced in the Greek 


Kalmuk Sacrifice. 


















126 


THE NATIONAL CHURCH. 


Orthodox world a profound antipathy to the Roman Catholic Church 
and to Western influence of every kind. So strong was this aversion, 
that when the nations of the West awakened in the fifteenth and six¬ 
teenth centuries from their intellectual lethargy and began to move 
forward cn the path of intellectual and material progress, Russia not 
only remained unmoved, but looked on the new civilization with sus¬ 
picion and fear as a thing heretical and accursed. We have here one 
of the chief reasons why Russia, at the present day, is in many respects 
less civilized than the nations of Western Europe. 

But it is not merely in this negative way that the acceptance of 
Christianity from Constantinople has affected the fate of Russia. The 
Greek Church, whilst excluding Roman Catholic civilization, exerted 
at the same time a powerful positive influence on the historical devel¬ 
opment of the nation. 

The Church of the West inherited from old Rome something of that 
logical, juridical, administrative spirit which had created the Roman 
law, and something of that ambition and dogged, energetic perseverance 
that had formed nearly the whole known world into a great centralized 
empire. The Bishops of Rome early conceived the design of recon¬ 
structing that old Empire on a new basis, and have ever striven to 
create a universal Christian theocratic State, in which kings and other 
civil authorities should be the subordinates of Christ’s Vicar upon 
earth. The Eastern Church, on the contrary, has remained true to 
her Byzantine traditions, and has never dreamed of such lofty preten¬ 
sions. Accustomed to lean on the civil power, she has always been 
content to play a secondary part, and has never strenuously resisted 
the formation of national churches. 

For about two centuries after the introduction of Christianity— 
from 988 till 1240—Russia formed, ecclesiastically speaking, part of 
the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The metropolitans and the Bishops 
were Greeks by birth and education, and the ecclesiastical administra¬ 
tion was guided and controlled by the Byzantine Patriarchs. But 
from the time of the Tartar invasion, when the communications with 
Constantinople became more difficult, and educated native priests had 
became more numerous, this complete dependence on the Patriarch 
ceased. The Princes gradually arrogated to themselves the right of 
choosing the Metropolitan of Kiev—who was at that time the chief 
ecclesiastical dignitary in Russia—and merely sent their nominees to 


THE NATIONAL CHURCH 


127 


Constantinople for consecration. About 1448 this formality came to 
be dispensed with, and the Metropolitan was commonly consecrated by 
a council of Russian bishops. A further step in the direction of eccle¬ 
siastical autonomy was taken in 1589, when the Czar succeeded in pro¬ 
curing the consecration of a Russian Patriarch, equal in dignity and 
authority to the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Antioch, and 
Alexandria. 

In all matters of external form the Patriarch of Moscow was a very 
important personage. He exercised a considerable influence in civil 
as well as ecclesiastical affairs, bore the official title of “ great lord,” 
which had previously been reserved for the civil head of the State, and 
habitually received from the people • scarcely less veneration than the 
Czar himself. But in reality he possessed very little independent 
power. The Czar was the real ruler in ecclesiastical as well as in civil 
affairs. 

The Russian Patriarchate came to an end in the time of Peter the 
Great. Peter wished among other things to reform the ecclesiastical 
administration, and to introduce into his country many novelties which 
the majority of the clergy and of the people regarded as heretical; and 
he clearly perceived that a bigoted, energetic Patriarch might throw 
considerable obstacles in his way, and cause him infinite annoyance. 
Though such a Patriarch might be deposed without any flagrant viola¬ 
tion of the canonical formalities, the operation would necessarily be 
attended with great trouble and loss of time. Peter was no friend of 
roundabout, tortuous methods, and preferred to remove the difficulty 
in his usual violent fashion. When the Patriarch Adrian died, the 
customary short interregnum was prolonged for twenty years, and 
when the people had thus become accustomed to having no Patriarch, 
it was announced that no more Patriarchs would be elected. Their 
place was supplied by an ecclesiastical council or Synod, in which, as a 
contemporary explained, “ the mainspring was Peter’s power, and the 
pendulum his understanding.” The great autocrat justly considered 
that such a council could be much more easily managed than a stub¬ 
born Patriarch, and the wisdom of the measure has been duly appre¬ 
ciated by succeeding sovereigns. Though the idea of reestablishing 
the Patriarchate has more than once been raised, it has never been 
carried into execution. The Holy Synod remains, and is likely to 
remain, the highest ecclesiastical authority. 


128 


THE NATIONAL CHURCH. 


But the Emperor ? What is his relation to the Synod and to the 
Church in general? 

This is a question about which zealous Orthodox Russians are ex¬ 
tremely sensitive. If a foreigner ventures to hint in their presence 
that the Emperor seems to have a considerable influence in the Church, 
he may inadvertently produce a little outburst of patriotic warmth 
and virtuous indignation. The truth is that many Russians have a 
pet theory on this subject, and have at the same time a dim conscious¬ 
ness that the theory is not quite in accordance with reality. They 
hold theoretically that the Orthodox Church has no “Head” but 
Christ, and is in some peculiar, undefined sense entirely independent 
of all terrestrial authority. In this respect it is often compared with 
the Anglican Church, and the comparison is made a theme for semi¬ 
religious, semi-patriotic exultation, which finds expression not only in 
conversation, but also in the literature. Khomiakof, for instance, in 
one of his most vigorous poems, predicts that God will one day take 
the destiny of the world out of the hands of England in order to give 
it to Russia, and he adduces as one of the reasons for this transfer the 
fact that England “has chained, w T ith sacrilegious hand, the Church 
of God to the pedestal of the vain earthly power.” So far the theory. 
As to the facts, it is unquestionable that the Church enjoys much more 
liberty in England than in Russia, and that the Czar exercises a much 
greater influence in ecclesiastical affairs than the Queen and Parlia¬ 
ment. All who know the internal history of Russia are aware that 
the Government does not draw a clear line of distinction between the 
temporal and the spiritual, and that it occasionally uses the ecclesias¬ 
tical organization for political purposes. 

What, then, are the relations between Church and State? 

To avoid confusion, we must carefully distinguish between the 
Eastern Orthodox Church as a whole, and that section of it which is 
known as the Russian Church. 

The Eastern Orthodox Church (or Greek Orthodox Church) is, 
properly speaking, a confederation of independent churches without 
any central authority—a unity founded on the possession of a common 
dogma and on the theoretical but now unrealizable possibility of 
holding Ecumenical Councils. The Russian National Church is one 
of the members of this ecclesiastical confederation. In matters of 
faith, it is bound by the decisions of the ancient Ecumenical Councils, 


THE NATIONAL CHURCH. 


129 



Light House on the Black Sea, near the Bosphorus. 


but in all other respects it enjoys complete independence and auto¬ 
nomy. 

In relation to the Orthodox Church as a whole, the Emperor of 
Russia is nothing more than a simple member, and can no more 
interfere with its dogmas or ceremonial than a King of Italy or an 
Emperor of the French could modify Roman Catholic theology; but 
in relation to the Russian National Church his position is peculiar. 
He is described in one of the fundamental laws as “ the supreme 
defender and preserver of the dogmas of the dominant faith,'’ and 
immediately afterwards it is said, “ the autocratic power acts in the 
ecclesiastical administration by means of the most Holy Governing 
Synod, created by it.” This describes very fairly the relations between 
the Emperor and the Church. He is merely the defender of the 
dogmas, and cannot in the least modify them; but he is at the same 
time the chief administrator, and uses the Synod as an instrument. 

Some ingenious people who wish to prove that the creation of the 
Synod was not an innovation, represent the institution as a resuscita¬ 
tion of the ancient Local Councils; but this view is utterly untenable. 
9 


























130 


THE NATIONAL CHURCH. 


The Synod is not a council of deputies from various sections of the 
Church, but a permanent college, or ecclesiastical senate, the members 
of which are appointed and dismissed by the Emperor as he thinks 
fit. It has no independent legislative authority, for its legislative 
projects do not become law till they have received the Imperial sanc¬ 
tion ; and they are always published, not in the name of the Church, 
but in the name of the Supreme Power. Even in matters of simple 
administration it is not independent, for all its resolutions require the 
consent of the Procureur, a layman nominated by his Majesty. In 
theory this functionary protests only against those resolutions which 
are not in accordance with the civil law of the country; but as he 
alone has the right to address the Emperor directly on ecclesiastical 
concerns, and as all communications between the Emperor and the 
Synod must pass through his hands, he possesses in reality consider¬ 
able power. Besides this, he can always influence the individual 
members by holding out prospects of advancement and decorations, 
and if this device fails, he can make the refractory members retire, 
and fill up their places with men of more pliable disposition. A 
council constituted in this way cannot, of course, display much inde¬ 
pendence of thought or action, especially in a country like Russia, 
where no one ventures to oppose openly the Imperial will. 

It must not, however, be supposed that the Russian ecclesiastics 
regard the Imperial authority with jealousy or dislike. They are all 
most loyal subjects, and warm adherents of autocracy. Those ideas 
of ecclesiastical independence which are so common in Western Europe, 
and that spirit of opposition to the civil power which animates the 
Roman Catholic clergy, are entirely foreign to their minds. If a 
bishop sometimes complains to an intimate friend that he has been 
brought to St. Petersburg and made a member of the Synod, merely 
to append his signature to official papers and to give his consent to 
foregone conclusions, his displeasure is directed, not against the Em¬ 
peror, but against the Procureur. He is full of loyalty and devotion 
to the Czar, and has no desire to see his Majesty excluded from all 
influence in ecclesiastical affairs; but he feels saddened and humiliated 
when he finds that the whole government of the Church is in the 
hands of a lay functionary, who may be a military man, and who 
certainly looks at all matters from a layman’s point of view. 

A foreigner who hears ecclesiastics grumble or laymen express dis- 


THE NATIONAL CHURCH. 


131 


satisfaction with the existing state of things is apt to imagine that a 
secret struggle is going on between Church and State, and that a 
party favorable to Disestablishment is at present being formed. In 
reality there is no such struggle and no such party. Russians propose 
and discuss every conceivable kind of political and social reforms, but 
they never speak about disestablishing the Church. Indeed, we do 
not know how the idea could be expressed in Russian, except by a 
lengthy circumlocution. So long as the autocratic power exists, no 
kind of administration can be exempted from Imperial control. 

This close connection between Church and State and the thoroughly 
national character of the Russian Church is well illustrated by the 
history of the local ecclesiastical administration. The civil and the 
ecclesiastical administration have always had the same character and 
have always been modified by the same influences. The terrorism 
which was largely used by the Muscovite Czars and brought to a 
climax by Peter the Great appeared equally in both. In the episcopal 
circulars, as in the Imperial ukases, we find frequent mention of 
“ most cruel corporal punishment,” “ cruel punishment with whips, so 
that the delinquent and others may not acquire the habit of practising 
such insolence,” and much more of the same kind. And these terribly 
severe measures were sometimes directed against very venial offences. 
The Bishop of Vologda, for instance, in 1748 decrees “ cruel corporal 
punishment” against priests who wear coarse and ragged clothes; and 
the records of the Consistorial courts contain abundant proof that such 
decrees were rigorously executed. When Catherine II. introduced a 
more humane spirit into the civil administration, corporal punishment 
was at once abolished in the Consistorial courts, and the procedure 
was modified according to the accepted maxims of civil jurisprudence. 
But we will not weary the reader with tiresome historical details. 
Suffice it to say that, from the time of Peter the Great downwards, 
the character of all the more energetic sovereigns is reflected in the 
history of the ecclesiastical administration. 

Each province, or “government,” forms a diocese, and the bishop, 
like the civil governor, has a council which theoretically controls his^ 
power, but practically has no controlling influence whatever. The 
Consistorial council, which has in the theory of ecclesiastical procedure 
a very imposing appearance, is in reality the bishop’s chancellerie, and 
its members are little more than secretaries, whose chief object is to 


132 


THE NATIONAL CHURCH. 


make themselves agreeable to their superior. And it must he con* 
fessed that so long as they remain what they are, the less power they 
possess, the better it will be for those who have the misfortune to be 
under their jurisdiction. The higher dignitaries have at least larger 
aims and a certain consciousness of the dignity of their position; but 
the lower officials, who have no such healthy restraints and receive 
ridiculously small salaries, grossly misuse the little authority which 
they possess, and habitually pilfer and extort in the most shameless 
manner. The Consistories are in fact what the public offices were in 
the time of Nicholas. 

The ecclesiastical administration is entirely in the hands of the 
monks, or “ Black Clergy,” as they are commonly termed, who form 
a large and influential class. 

The monks who first settled in Russia were men of the earnest, 
ascetic, missionary type. Filled with zeal for the glory of God 
and the salvation of souls, they took little or no thought for the 
morrow, and devoutly believed that their Heavenly Father, without 
whose knowledge no sparrow falls to the ground, would provide for 
their humble wants. Poor, clad in rags, eating the most simple fare, 
and ever ready to share what they had with any one poorer than them¬ 
selves, they performed faithfully and earnestly the work which their 
Master had given them to do. But this ideal of monastic life soon 
gave way to practices less simple and severe. By the liberal donations 
and bequests of the faithful the monasteries became rich in gold, in 
silver, in precious stones, and above all in land and serfs. Troitsa, 
for instance, possessed at one time one hundred and twenty thousand 
serfs, and a proportionate amount of land, and it is said that at the 
beginning of the last century more than a fourth of the entire popula¬ 
tion had fallen under the jurisdiction of the Church. Many of the 
monasteries engaged in commerce, and the monks were the most 
intelligent merchants of the country. 

During the last century the Church lands were secularized, and the 
serfs of the Church became serfs of the State. This was a severe blow 
for the monasteries, but it did not prove fatal, as many people predicted. 
Some monasteries were abolished and others were reduced to extreme 
poverty, but many survived and prospered. These could no longer 
possess serfs, but they had still three sources of revenue: a limited 
amount of real property, government subsidies, and the voluntary 


THE NATIONAL CHURCH. 


133 



Princess of Montenegro. 




















































134 


THE NATIONAL CHURCH. 


offerings of the faithful. At present there are about five hundred 
monastic establishments, and the great majority of them, though not 
wealthy, have revenues more than sufficient to satisfy all the require¬ 
ments of an ascetic life. 

Thus in Russia, as in Western Europe, the history of monastic 
institutions is composed of three chapters, which may be briefly 
entitled: asceticism and missionary enterprise; wealth, luxury, and 
corruption; secularization of property and decline. But between 
Eastern and Western monasticism there is at least one marked differ¬ 
ence. The monasticism of the West made at various epochs of its 
history a vigorous, spontaneous effort at self-regeneration, which found 
expression in the foundation of separate orders, each of which proposed 
to itself some special aim—some special sphere of usefulness. In 
Russia we find no similar phenomenon. Here the monasteries never 
deviated from the rules of St. Basil, which restrict the members to 
religious ceremonies, prayer, and contemplation. From time to time 
a solitary individual raised his voice against the prevailing abuses, or 
retired from his monastery to spend the remainder of his days in 
ascetic solitude; but neither in the monastic population as a whole, 
nor in any paiticular monastery, do we find at any time a spontaneous, 
vigorous movement toward reform. During the last two hundred 
years reforms have certainly been effected, but they have all been the 
work of the civil power, and in the realization of them the monks 
have shown little more than the virtue of resignation. Here, as 
elsewhere, we have evidence of that inertness, apathy, and want of 
spontaneous vigor which form one of the most characteristic traits of 
Russian national life. In this, as in other departments of national 
activity, the spring of action has lain not in the people but in the 
Government. 

If there is anything that may be called party-feeling in the Russian 
Church, it is the feeling of hostility which exists between the White 
and the Black Clergy—that is to say, between the parish priests and 
the monks. The parish priests consider it very hard that they should 
have nearly all the laborious duties and none of the honors of their 
profession. The monks, on the other hand, look on the parish priest 
as a kind of ecclesiastical half-caste, and think that he ought to obey 
his superiors without grumbling. 

This antagonism, together with the general enthusiasm for every 


THE NATIONAL CHURCH. 


135 


species of reform which has characterized the present reign, has pro¬ 
duced a certain appearance of movement in the Russian clerical world, 
and has induced some sanguine persons to believe that there is a 
movement in the deep waters, and that the Church is about to throw 
cfF her venerable lethargy. Such expectations cannot be entertained 
by any one who has studied carefully and dispassionately her past 
history and present condition. Anything at all resembling what we 
understand by a religious revival is in flagrant contradiction of all her 
traditions. Immobility and passive resistance to external influences 
have always been, and are still, her fundamental principles of conduct. 
She prides herself on being above terrestrial influences. During the 
last two centuries Russia has undergone an uninterrupted series of 
profound modifications—political, intellectual, and moral—but the 
spirit of the National Church has remained unchanged. The modifica¬ 
tions that have been made in her administrative organization have not 
affected her inner nature. In spirit and character she is now what 
she was under the Patriarchs in the time of the Muscovite Czars, 
holding fast to the promise that no jot or tittle shall pass from the law 
till all be fulfilled. To all that is said about the requirements of 
modern life and modern science she turns a deaf ear. Partly from the 
predominance which she gives to the ceremonial element, partly from 
the fact that her chief aim is to preserve unmodified the doctrine and 
ceremonial as determined by the early Ecumenical Councils, and partly 
from the low state of general culture among the clergy, she has ever 
remained outside of the intellectual movements. The attempts of the 
Roman Catholic Church to develop the traditional dogmas by definition 
and deduction, and the efforts of the Protestant Churches to reconcile 
their teaching with progressive science and the ever-varying intel¬ 
lectual currents of the time, are alike foreign to her nature. Hence 
she has produced no profound theological treatises conceived in a 
philosophical spirit, and has made no attempt to combat the spirit of 
infidelity in its modern forms. Profoundly convinced that her position 
is impregnable, she has “ let the nations rave,” and scarcely deigned 
to cast a glance at their intellectual and religious struggles. In a 
word, she is “ in the world, but not of it.” 

If we wish to see represented in a visible form the peculiar charac¬ 
teristics of the Russian Church, we have only to glance at Russian 
religious art, and compare it with that of Western Europe. In the 


136 


THE NATIONAL CHURCH. 



Fort Borneo, Black Sea. 


West, from the time of the Renaissance downwards, religious art has 
kept pace with the intellectual development. Gradually it emancipated 
itself from archaic forms and childish symbolism, converted the lifeless 
typical figures into living individuals, lit up their dull eyes and 
expressionless faces with human intelligence and human feeling, and 
finally affected archaeological accuracy in costume and other details. 
Thus in the West the practiced eye can at once decide to what period 
a religious picture belongs. In Russia, on the contrary, no such 
development has taken place in religious art. The old Byzantine 
forms have been faithfully and rigorously preserved, and we can see 
reflected in the Icons—stiff, archaic, expressionless—the immobility 
of the Eastern Church in general, and of the Russian Church in 
particular. 

To the Roman Catholic, who struggles against science as soon as it 
contradicts traditional conceptions, and to the Protestant, who strives 
to bring his religious beliefs into accordance with his scientific know r - 
ledge, the Russian Church may seem to resemble an antediluvian 
petrifaction, or a cumbrous line-of-battle ship that has been long 
stranded—“ stuck on a bank, and beaten by the flood.” It must be 































THE NATIONAL CHURCH. 


137 


confessed, however, that the serene inactivity for which she is distin¬ 
guished has had very valuable practical consequences. The Russian 
clergy have neither that haughty, aggressive intolerance which 
characterizes their Roman Catholic brethren, nor that narrow-minded, 
bitter, uncharitable, sectarian spirit which is too often to be found 
among Protestants. They allow not only to heretics, but also to 
members of their own communion, the most complete intellectual 
freedom, and never think of anathematizing any one for his scientific 
or unscientific opinions. All that they demand is that those who 
who have been born within the pale of Orthodoxy should show the 
Church a certain nominal allegiance; and in this matter of allegiance 
they are by no means very exacting. So long as a member refrains 
from openly attacking the Church and from passing over to another 
confession, he may entirely neglect all religious ordinances and publicly 
profess scientific theories logically inconsistent with any kind of 
religious belief, without the slightest danger of incurring ecclesiastical 
censure. Until recently, it is true all Orthodox Russians were obliged 
to communicate once a year, under pain of incurring various disagree¬ 
able consequences of a temporal nature; but this obligation proceeded 
in reality from the civil government, and the priests, in so far as they 
insisted on its fulfillment, were actuated by pecuniary rather than 
religious considerations. In short, if the Russian clergy has done 
little for the advancement of science and enlightenment, it has at least 
done nothing to suppress them. 

This apathetic tolerance may be partly explained by the national 
character, but it is at the same time to some extent due to the peculiar 
relations between Church and State. The Government vigilantly 
protects the Church from attack, and at the same time prevents her 
from attacking her enemies. Hence religious questions are never 
discussed in the press, and the ecclesiastical literature is all historical, 
homiletic, or devotional. The authorities allow public oral discussions 
to be held during Lent in the Kremlin of Moscow, between members 
of the State Church and Old Ritualists; but these debates are not 
theological in our sense of the term. They turn exclusively on details 
of Church History, and on the minutiae of ceremonial observance. 
The disputants discuss, for instance, the proper position of the fingers 
in making the sign of the cross, and found their arguments, not on 
Scripture, but on the ancient Icons, the decrees of the Ecumenical 
Councils, and the writings of the Greek Fathers. 




138 


THE PRIESTHOOD . 


CHAPTER VII. 

THE PRIESTHOOD. 

Nearly all competent authorities have admitted that the present 
condition of the Russian clergy is highly unsatisfactory, and that the 
parish priest rarely enjoys the respect of his parishioners. In a semi¬ 
official report to the Grand Duke Constantine, written by Mr. Mel- 
nikof, the facts are stated in the following plain language: “The 
people do not respect the clergy, but persecute them with derision and 
reproaches, and feel them to be a burden. In nearly all the popular 
comic stories, the priest, his wife, or his laborer is held up to ridicule, 
and in all the proverbs and popular sayings where the clergy are 
mentioned it is always with derision. The people shun the clergy, 
and have recourse to them not from the inner impulse of conscience, 
but from necessity. . . . And why do the people not respect the 

clergy ? Because it forms a class apart; because, having received a 
false kind of education, it does not introduce into the life of the people 
the teaching of the Spirit, but remains in the mere dead forms of 
outward ceremonial, at the same time despising these forms even to 
blasphemy; because the clergy itself continually presents examples of 
want of respect to religion, and transforms the service of God into a 
profitable trade. Can the people respect the clergy wffien they hear 
how one priest stole money from below the pillow of a dying man at 
the moment of confession, how another was publicly dragged out of a 
house of ill fame, how a third christened a dog, how a fourth, whilst 
officiating at the Easter service w 7 as dragged by the hair from the 
altar by the deacon ? Is it possible for the people to respect priests 
w r ho spend their time in the gin-shop, w 7 rite fraudulent petitions, fight 
with the cross in their hands, and abuse each other in bad language 
at the altar ? One might fill several pages with examples of this kind 
—in each instance naming time and place—without overstepping the 
boundaries of the province of Nizhni-Novgorod. Is it possible for the 
people to respect the clergy when they see everywhere amongst them 
simony, carelessness in performing the religious rites, and disorder in 
administering the sacraments ? Is it possible for the people to respect 


Two Brides with a Group of Kirghis, of Siberia. 
































































































































































140 


THE PRIESTHOOD. 


the clergy when they see that truth has disappeared from it, and that 
the consistories, guided in their decisions not by rules, but by personal 
friendship and bribery, destroy in it the last remains of truthfulness? 
If we add to all this the false certificates which the clergy give to 
those who do not wish to partake of the Eucharist, the dues illegally 
extracted from the Old Ritualists, the conversion of the altar into a 
source of revenue, the giving of churches to priests’ daughters as a 
dowry, and similar phenomena, the question as to whether the people 
can respect the clergy requires no answer.” 

As these words were written by an orthodox Russian, celebrated for 
his extensive and intimate knowledge of Russian provincial life, and 
were addressed in all seriousness to a member of the Imperial family, 
we may safely assume that they contain a considerable amount of 
truth. The reader must not, however, imagine that all Russian 
priests are of the kind above referred to. Many of them are honest, 
respectable, well-intentioned men, who conscientiously fulfill their 
humble duties, and strive hard to procure a good education for their 
children. If they have less learning, culture, and refinement than the 
Roman Catholic priesthood, they have at the same time infinitely less 
fanaticism, less spiritual pride, and less intolerance towards the adher¬ 
ents of other faiths. Both the good and the bad qualities of the 
Russian priesthood at the present time can be easily explained by its 
past history, and by certain peculiarities of the national character. 

The Russian White Clergy—that is to say, the parish priests, as 
distinguished from the monks, who are called the Black Clergy—have 
had a curious history. In early times they were drawn from all classes 
of the population, and freely elected by the parishioners. When a man 
was elected by the popular vote, he was presented to the Bishop, and 
if he was found to be a fit and proper person for the office, he was at 
once ordained. But very soon this custom fell into disuse. The 
Bishops, finding that many of the candidates presented were illiterate 
peasants, gradually assumed the right of appointing the priests, with 
or without the consent of the parishioners; and their choice generally 
fell on the sons of the clergy as the men best fitted to take orders. 
The creation of Bishops’ schools, afterwards called seminaries, in which 
the sons of the clergy were educated, naturally led, in the course of 
time, to the total exclusion of the other classes. At the same time, the 
policy of the civil Government led to the same end. Peter the Great 


THE PRIESTHOOD . 


141 


laid down the principle that every subject should in some way serve 
the State—the nobles as officers in the army or navy, or as officials in 
the civil service; the clergy as ministers of religion; and the lower 
classes as soldiers, sailors, or tax-payers. Of these three classes, the 
clergy had by far the lightest burdens to bear, and consequently many 
nobles and peasants would willingly have entered its ranks. But this 
species of desertion the Government could not tolerate, and accordingly 
the priesthood was surrounded by a legal barrier which prevented all 
outsiders from entering it. Thus by the combined efforts of the eccle¬ 
siastical and the civil Administration the clergy became a separate 
class or caste, legally and actually incapable of mingling with the 
other classes of the population. 

The simple fact that the clergy became an exclusive caste, with a 
peculiar character, peculiar habits, and peculiar ideals, would in itself 
have had a prejudicial influence on the priesthood; but this was not 
all. The caste increased in numbers by the process of natural repro¬ 
duction much more rapidly than the offices to be filled, so that the sup¬ 
ply of priests and deacons soon far exceeded the demand ; and the dis¬ 
proportion between supply and demand became every year greater and 
greater. Thus was formed an ever-increasing clerical Proletariate, 
which—as is always the case with a Proletariate of any kind—gravi¬ 
tated towards the towns. In vain the Government issued ukases pro¬ 
hibiting the priests from quitting their places of domicile, and treated 
as vagrants and runaways those who disregarded the prohibition; in 
vain successive sovereigns endeavored to diminish the number of these 
supernumeraries by drafting them wholesale into the army. In Moscow, 
St. Petersburg, and all the larger towns, the cry was still, “They 
come!” Every morning, in the kremlin of Moscow, a large crowd of 
them assembled for the purpose of being hired to officiate in the private 
chapels of the rich nobles, and a great deal of hard bargaining took 
place between the priests and the lackeys sent to hire them—conducted 
in the same spirit, and in nearly the same forms, as that which simul¬ 
taneously took place in the bazaar close by between extortionate traders 
and thrifty housewives. “ Listen to me,” a priest would say, as an 
ultimatum, to a lackey who was trying to beat down the price; “ if 
you don’t give me seventy-five kopeks without furthor ado, I’ll take a 
bite of this roll, and that will be an end to it!” And that would have 
been an end to the proceedings, for, according to the rules of the Church, 


142 


THE PRIESTHOOD. 


a priest cannot officiate after breaking his fast. The ultimatum, how¬ 
ever, could be used with effect only to country servants who had 
recently come to town. A sharp lackey, experienced in this kind of 
diplomacy, would have laughed at the threat, and replied coolly, “ Bite 
away, Bd,tuska; I can find plenty more of your sort!” 

The condition of the priests who remained in the villages was not 
much better. Those of them who were fortunate enough to find places 
were raised at least above the fear of absolute destitution, but their 
position was by no means enviable. They received little consideration 
or respect from the peasantry, and still less from the nobles. When 
the church was situated not on the State Demesnes, but on a private 
estate, they were practically under the power of the proprietor—almost 
as completely as his serfs; and sometimes that power was exercised in 
a most humiliating and shameful way We have heard, for instance, 
of one priest who was ducked in the pond on a cold winter day for the 
amusement of the proprietor and his guests—choice spirits, of rough, 
jovial temperament; and of another who, having neglected to take off 
his hat as he passed the proprietor’s house, was put into a barrel and 
rolled down a hill into a river at the bottom ! 

In citing these incidents, we do not at all mean to imply that they 
represent the relations which usually existed between proprietors and 
village priests, for it is quite true that wanton cruelty was not among 
the ordinary vices of Russian serf-owners. The object in mentioning 
the incidents is to show how a brutal proprietor—and it must be ad¬ 
mitted that there were not a few brutal individuals in the class—could 
treat a priest without much danger of being called to account for his 
conduct. Of course such conduct was an offence in the eyes of the 
the criminal law; but the criminal law of that time was very short¬ 
sighted, and strongly disposed to close its eyes completely when the 
offender was an influential proprietor, and the victim merely a village 
priest. Had the incidents reached the ears of the Emperor Nicholas, 
he would probably have ordered the culprit to be summarily and 
severely punished; but, as the Russian proverb has it, “ the Heaven is 
high, and the Czar is far off.” A village priest treated in this barbar¬ 
ous way could have little hope of redress, and, if he were a prudent 
man, he would make no attempt to obtain it; for any annoyance which 
he might give the proprietor by complaining to the ecclesiastical 
authorities would be sure to be paid back to him w T ith interest in some 
indirect way. 


THE PRIESTHOOD. 


143 



The Russian New Floating Dock at Nicolaiff. 


The sons of the clergy who did not succeed in finding regular sacer¬ 
dotal employment were in a still worse position. Many of them served 
as scribes of intermediate officials in the public offices, where they com¬ 
monly eked out their scanty salaries by unblushing extortion and pil¬ 
fering. Those who did not succeed in gaining even modest employ¬ 
ment of this kind had to keep off starvation by less lawful means, and 
not unfrequently found their way into the prisons or to Siberia. 

In judging of the Russian priesthood of the present time, we must 
call to mind this severe school through which it has passed, and we 
must also take into consideration the spirit which has been for centu¬ 
ries predominant in the Eastern Church—we mean the strong tendency 
both in the clergy and in the laity to attribute an inordinate import¬ 
ance to the ceremonial element of religion. Primitive mankind is 
everywhere and always disposed to regard religion as simply a mass of 
mysterious rites, which have a secret magical power of averting evil in 
this world and securing felicity in the next. To this general rule the 































144 


THE PRIESTHOOD. 


Russian peasantry are no exception, and the Russian Church has not 
done all it might have done to eradicate this conception and to bring 
religion into closer association with ordinary morality. Hence such 
incidents as the following are still possible. A robber kills and rifles 
a traveller, but refrains from eating a piece of cooked meat w hich he 
finds in the cart, because it happens to be a fast day! A peasant pre¬ 
pares to rob a young attache of the Austrian Embassy in St. Peters¬ 
burg, and ultimately kills his victim, but before going to the house he 
enters a church and commends his undertaking to the protection of the 
saints! A housebreaker, when in the act of robbing a church, finds it 
difficult to extract the jewels from an Icon, and makes a vow that if a 
certain saint assists him he will place a rouble’s-worth of tapers before 
the saint’s image! 

All these are of course extreme cases, but they illustrate a tendency 
which in its milder forms is only too general amongst the Russian 
people—the tendency to regard religion as a mass of ceremonies which 
have a magical rather than a spiritual significance. The poor woman 
who kneels at a religious procession in order that the Icon may be 
carried over her head, and the rich merchant who invites the priest to 
bring some famous Icon to his house, illustrate this tendency in a more 
harmless way. 

According to a popular saying, “ as is the priest, so is the parish,” 
and the converse proposition is equally true—as is the parish, so is the 
priest. The great majority of priests, like the great majority of men 
in general, content themselves with simply striving to perforin what is 
expected of them, and their character is consequently determined to a 
certain extent by the ideas and conceptions of their parishioners. This 
will become more apparent if we contrast the Russian priest with the 
Protestant pastor. 

According to Protestant conceptions, the village pastor is a man of 
grave demeanor and exemplary conduct, and possesses a certain amount 
of education and refinement. He ought to expound weekly to his flock, 
in simple, impressive words, the great truths of Christianity, and exhort 
his hearers to walk in the paths of righteousness. Besides this, he is 
expected to comfort the afflicted, to assist the needy, to counsel those 
who are harassed with doubts, and admonish those who openly stray 
from the narrow’ path. Such is the ideal in the popular mind, and 
nearly all pastors seek to realize it, if not in very deed, at least in ap- 


THE PRIESTHOOD . 


145 


pearance. The Russian priest, on the contrary, has no such ideal set 
before him by his parishioners. He is expected merely to conform to 
certain observances and to perform punctiliously the rites and ceremo¬ 
nies prescribed by the Church. If he does this without practising 
extortion, his parishioners are quite satisfied. He rarely preaches or 
exhorts, and neither has nor seeks to have a moral influence over his 
flock. There are occasional instances of Russian priests who approach 
what we have termed the Protestant ideal, but their number is com¬ 
paratively small. 

It must be admitted that the Russian people are in a certain sense 
religious. They go regularly to church on Sundays and holy days, 
cross themselves repeatedly when they pass a church or Icon, take the 
Holy Communion at stated seasons, rigorously abstain from animal 
food—not only on Wednesdays and Fridays, but also during Lent and 
the other long fasts—make occasional pilgrimages to holy shrines, and, 
in a word, fulfill punctiliously all the ceremonial observances which 
they suppose necessary to salvation. But here their religiousness ends. 
They are generally profoundly ignorant of religious doctrine, and know 
little or nothing of Holy Writ. A peasant, it is said, was once asked 
by a priest if he could name the three Persons of the Trinity, and 
replied without a moment’s hesitation, “ How can one not know that, 
Batushka? Of course it is the Saviour, the Mother of God, and Saint 
Nicholas the miracle-worker!” That answer represents fairly enough 
the theological attainments of a very large section of the peasantry. 
The anecdote is so well known and so often repeated that it is proba¬ 
bly an invention, but it is not a calumny. Of theology and of what 
Protestants term the “ inner religious life,” the Russian peasant has no 
conception. For him the ceremonial part of religion suffices, and he 
has the most unbounded, childlike confidence in the saving efficacy of 
the rites which he practices. If he has been baptized in infancy, has 
regularly observed the fasts, has annually partaken of the Holy Com¬ 
munion, and has just confessed and received extreme unction, he feels 
death approach with the most profound tranquility. He is tormented 
with no doubts as to the efficacy of faith or works, and has no fears 
that his past life may possibly have rendered him unfit for eternal 
felicity. Like a man in a sinking ship who has buckled on his life- 
preserver, he feels perfectly secure. With no fear for the future and 
little regret for the present or the past, he awaits calmly the dread 
10 


146 


THE PRIESTHOOD. 



Fortress Kavibjeh, on the Bosphorus. 


summons, and dies with a resignation which a Stoic philosopher might 
envy. 

In the above paragraph we have used the word Icon, and perhaps 
the reader may not clearly understand the word. Let us explain then, 
briefly, what an Icon is—a very necessary explanation, for the Icons 
play an important part in the religious observances of the Russian 
people. 

Icons are pictorial half-length representations of the Saviour, of the 
Madonna, or of a saint, executed in archaic Byzantine style, on a yel¬ 
low or gold ground, and varying in size from a square inch to several 
square feet. Very often the whole picture, with the exception of the 
face and hands of the figure, is covered with a metal plaque , embossed 
so as to represent the form of the figure and the drapery. When this 
plaque is not used, the crown and costume are often adorned with 
pearls and other precious stones—sometimes of great price. 

A careful examination of Icons belonging to various periods leads 
to the conclusion that they were originally simple pictures, and that 
the metallic plaque is a modern innovation. The first departure from 








































































THE PRIESTHOOD. 


147 

purely pictorial representation seems to have been the habit of placing 
on the head of the painted figure a piece of ornamental gold-work, 
sometimes set with precious stones, to represent a nimbus or a crown. 
This strange, and to our minds barbarous, method of combining paint¬ 
ing with haut-relief— if such a term may be applied to this peculiar 
kind of decoration—was afterwards gradually extended to the various 
parts of the costume, until only the face and hands of the figure re¬ 
mained visible, when it was found convenient to unite these various 
ornaments with the gilt background into a single embossed plate. 

In respect of religious significance, Icons are of two kinds: simple, 
and miraculous or miracle-working ( tchvdotvorny ). The former are 
manufactured in enormous quantities—chiefly in the province of 
Vladimir, where whole villages are employed in this kind of work— 
and are to be found in every Russian house, from the hut of the 
peasant to the palace of the Emperor. They are generally placed 
high up in a corner facing the door, and good Orthodox Christians on 
entering bow in that direction, making at the same time the sign of 
the cross. Before and after meals the same short ceremony is always 
performed. On the eve of f6te days a small lamp is kept burning 
before at least one of the Icons in the house. 

The wonder-working Icons are comparatively few in number, and 
are always carefully preserved in a church or chapel. They are 
commonly believed to have been “ not made with hands,” and to have 
appeared in a miraculous way. A monk, or it may be a common 
mortal, has a vision, in which he is informed that he may find a 
miraculous Icon in such a place, and on going to the spot indicated he 
finds it, sometimes buried, sometimes hanging on a tree. The sacred 
treasure is then removed to a church, and the news spreads like wild¬ 
fire through the district. Thousands flock to prostrate themselves 
before the heaven-sent picture, and some of them are healed of their 
diseases—a fact that plainly indicates its miracle-working power. The 
whole affair is then officially reported to the Most Holy Synod—the 
highest ecclesiastical authority in Russia under the Emperor—in order 
that the existence of the miracle-working power may be fully and 
regularly proved. The official recognition of the fact is by no means 
a mere matter of form, for the Synod is well aware that wonder¬ 
working Icons are always a rich source of revenue to the monasteries 
where they are kept, and that zealous Superiors are consequently apt 




148 THE PRIESTHOOD. 

in such cases to lean to the side of credulity, rather than that of over- 
severe criticism. A regular investigation is therefore made, and the 
formal recognition is not granted till the testimony of the finder is 
thoroughly examined and the alleged miracles duly authenticated. If 
the recognition is granted, the Icon is treated with the greatest venera¬ 
tion, and is sure to be visited by pilgrims from far and near. 

Some of the most revered Icons—as, for instance, the Kazan Madonna 
-—have annual f6te days instituted in their honor; or, more correctly 
speaking, the anniversary of their miraculous appearance is observed 
as a religious holiday. A few of them have an additional title to 
popular respect and veneration: that of being intimately associated 
with great events in the national history. The Vladimir Madonna, 
for example, once saved Moscow from the Tartars; the Smolensk 
Madonna accompanied the army in the glorious campaign against 
Napoleon in 1812; and when in that year it was known in Moscow 
that the French were advancing on the city, the people wished the 
Metropolitan to take the Iberian Madonna, which may still be seen 
near one of the gates of the Kremlin, and to lead them out armed with 
hatchets against the enemy. 

Though the unsatisfactory condition of the parochial clergy is 
generally recognized by the educated classes, very few people take the 
trouble to consider seriously how it might be improved. During the 
Reform enthusiasm which raged at the commencement of the present 
reign, ecclesiastical affairs received almost no attention; and at present, 
when the storm has passed and apathy prevails, they receive still less. 
The truth is that educated Russians, as a rule, take no interest in 
Church matters, and not a few of them are so very “far advanced” 
that they regard religion in all its forms as an old-world superstition, 
which should be allowed to die as tranquilly as possible. The Govern¬ 
ment has, however, done something towards improving the condition 
of the parish priests. Many of the barriers which tended to make the 
priesthood a caste have been broken down, and hundreds of priests’ 
sons are now making their way in the Civil Service, in the Judicial 
Administration, as Professors in the Universities, and in various 
industrial undertakings. In addition to this, an attempt is at present 
being made to diminish the number of parishes, and thereby to 
ameliorate the condition of the incumbents. These changes will, we 
believe, ultimately produce beneficial results. 


Souk and Family. 


THE PRIESTHOOD 


149 
















































































150 


THE GRAND TOUR. 


CHAPTER VIII. 

THE GRAND TOUR. 

If we were asked to describe Russia by a single epithet we should 
say that it was flat. Flatness is by far the most prominent feature of 
the country which stretches from the Polar Ocean to the Black Sea 
and the Caspian. One may travel many thousand miles by road and 
rail in that region without ever going up a steep hill or passing 
through a tunnel. If he is fortunate enough to discover a hill or 
hillock and takes the trouble of ascending it, he is pretty sure to find 
that the horizon on all sides is a straight line. Some of the rivers, it 
is true, have on the one side a high bank, and, as you look up at it 
from the deck of a steamer or small boat, you may be disposed to call 
it a low range of hills; but if you go to the top you will probably 
discover that you have been the victim of an optical delusion. What 
seemed a range of hills turns out to be simply the edge of a table-land 
stretching away far as the eye can reach, and the secluded little 
valley which you expected to see behind the summit has no existence 
in reality. 

After flatness, the most prominent characteristic of Russian scenery 
is monotony. Russians often boast of the unexampled variety of 
scenery, climate, vegetation, and races which their country contains, 
and all they say on this point may be literally true. A laud which 
stretches from the Arctic circle to the latitude of Rome cannot be 
monotonous to the eye of the geographer, botanist, zoologist, and 
ethnologist, when they sit in their study and survey the whole on a 
map. But it is not with such wide-seeing people that we have at 
present to do. The ordinary traveller who uses his own eyes and 
employs merely the ordinary means of locomotion cannot see more 
than a few square miles at a time, and cannot jump at a bound from 
Archangel to Tiflis. Even if he travels by express trains, at the rate 
of five-and-twenty miles an hour, he will probably after an hour or 
two begin to long for a newspaper or a novel; and, if he sums up his 
impressions at the end of the day's journey, he will find very little 
variety in them. The truth is that in order to get the impression of 


THE GRAND TOUR. 


151 


variety we must bring the various things together. It is of no use to 
be told that within the limits of the Empire there are ice-fields and 
luxuriant gardens, forests and prairies, reindeer and antelopes, cran¬ 
berries and vines, fur-covered Samoyeds and swarthy Georgians, the 
stern grandeur of the Arctic regions and the soft beauty of the sunny 
south. We do not feel in travelling the variety which these words 
suggest. A hundred thousand people, when scattered over a large 
area, do not constitute a crowd. 

On the whole, then, it may be said that Russia is not a country for 
tourists. Even when, in the course of time, it comes to be supplied 
with good roads, comfortable hotels, and all the other conveniences of 
civilized nomadic life, it will never be part of “ the playground of 
Europe.” Still, it ought not to be excluded entirely from the tourist 
world. If a route be chosen so as to include the most interesting 
parts and to omit as far as possible the regions in which flatness and 
monotony reign supreme, a summer vacation may be spent both pleas¬ 
antly and profitably in the dominions of the Czar. We propose now 
to make such a tour in the European part of the Empire; and, if the 
reader will kindly accompany us, we shall endeavor to fulfill the duties 
of guide and interpreter. 

Arriving in the Empire of the Czar by way of Finland, we have 
some difficulty in believing that we are in Russia, for we hear no 
Russian spoken around us. In the towns the common language is 
Swedish, and in the country the people commonly speak Finnish, a 
very euphonious language of the so-called Turanian family. We do 
not require to go far to discover that the institutions are as little 
Russian as the language. Having regularly read the newspapers 
since the outbreak of the Eastern Question, we know that Russia is 
behind the Ottoman Empire in having no Parliamentary institutions; 
hut Finland has evidently already had its Midhat Pasha, for it 
possesses both a Parliament and a Constitution. And a very curious 
Parliament it is, consisting of no less than four Chambers, each of 
which is composed of deputies from one of the four officially recog¬ 
nized social classes—the Nobles, the Clergy, the Burghers, and the 
Peasantrv. For ordinary affairs the consent of three of the chambers 
is sufficient; but in all matters relating to the fundamental laws, the 
rights of the various classes, and the raising of new taxes, all the four 
Chambers must agree. All this is very non-Russian, and shows 




152 


THE GRAND TOUR . 


plainly that Finland, though officially a Russian province, is not a 
part of Russia in the ordinary sense of the term. What is it, then ? 
We will endeavor to explain the anomaly. 

Finland was long a Swedish province, and the towns are still thor¬ 
oughly saturated with the Swedish spirit. In 1809 it was conquered 
by Russia, and soon afterwards formally annexed to the Empire; but 
the Emperor of that time, Alexander I., instead of sweeping away 
the existing institutions and putting genuine Russian institutions in 
their stead, endeavored to preserve as far as possible what actually 
existed, and adopted the title of Grand Prince of Finland. Hence 
arose all the anomalies which now exist. Finland enjoys many privi¬ 
leges which it ought not to possess, and escapes many burdens which 
it ought to bear, and, consequently, its inhabitants form a kind of 
privileged class in the Empire. Though they enjoy all the protection 
afforded to Russian subjects, both at home and abroad, they do not 
contribute to the expenses of diplomatic and consular agents, and, 
until quite recently, gave only one battalion to the army instead of 
thirty thousand men, as they ought to have done. They have their 
own coinage, their own post office, their own national bank, and their 
own custom-houses, which do not admit many kinds of Russian goods. 
Above all, they treat Russians who live amongst them not as masters, 
or even fellow-countrymen, but as foreigners. During the first quarter 
of the present century the Government, it is true, did show a certain 
partiality to its non-Russian subjects. It not only preserved the^ 
institutions of Finland and the Baltic Provinces, but gave a kind of 
constitution to the Poles, and accorded many valuable privileges to 
foreign colonists from Germany and other foreign countries. These 
measures were based on apparently sound considerations of State 
policy, but they were none the less galling to the self-respect of 
genuine Russians. The Russian found himself less privileged than 
foreigners in his own country ! And in many respects the system did 
not produce the desired result. The Swedes in Finland and the 
Germans in the Baltic provinces became more and more exclusive, 
and resolutely resisted all Russifying influence; expressing, often in a 
very inconsiderate way, their want of respect and admiration for the 
Russian character and institutions. The foreign colonists exercised 
little or no civilizing influence on the surrounding peasantry, and 
remained foreigners even in the third and fourth generation; whilst 


THE GRAND TOUR . 


155 


distinction is mode between converts and perverts. A Roman Catholic 
or Protestant may pass over to the Greek Orthodox Church, but a 
member of the national Church may not become a Roman Catholic 
or Protestant. Though the Government is, under ordinary circum¬ 
stances, strongly tinged with religious indifferentism, and makes no 
strenuous efforts to convert unbelievers, it does not allow the official 
fold to be diminished. Of course this is a very serious infringement 
on complete liberty of conscience; but, as comparatively few people 
desire openly to change their religion, it has not so much practical 
significance as might be supposed. Still, it is a blot, and a very 
serious blot, on Russian legislation; and it is to be hoped that the 
present Emperor, who has accomplished so many beneficent reforms, 
will see fit to remove this remnant of old religious intolerance. To 
protect orthodoxy by the criminal code indicates surely a strange 
want of faith in the inherent excellency and power of Mother Church. 

But we have inadverently wandered a long way from our tour. 
The first object of interest which the traveller sees from the steamer is 
Cronstadt. From the distance it seems an insignificant island, but it 
is in reality one of the strongest fortresses in the world. So, at least, 
Russians say, and we are not in a position to contradict them. Cer¬ 
tainly, it kept at bay during the Crimean War a great British fleet, 
and since that time it has been immensely strengthened; so that now, 
if report speaks true, it could defend St. Petersburg against all the 
iron-clads in the world. Shortly after passing it, we may discover on 
^the southern shore of the gulf two Imperial palaces, imbedded in trees 
—Peterhof and Strelna; and soon afterwards, right ahead near the 
horizon, a peculiar quivering light which looks like a great yellow 
meteor, but which, on closer inspection, pioves to be the sun’s rays 
reflected on the burnished dome of St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the largest 
church in St. Petersburg. 

It may be stated as a general rule that Russian, like Oriental cities, 
look very grand and beautiful from a distance, but lose very much of 
their grandeur and beauty by closer inspection. St. Petersburg 
exemplifies only the first half of this rule. Seen from a distance it is^ 
grand and beautiful; but, unlike the great majority of Russian towns, 
it does not lose its grandeur and beauty when you enter it—at least 
if you enter it by steamer. The deep, rapid river, on which skim 
perpetually swift steam-launches and small rowing-boats—the far- 






156 


TIIE GRAND TOUR. 


stretching quays of massive masonry, half concealed behind barges 
and steamers—the big, solid bouses lining the quays on either side— 
the long, elegant stone bridge with iron parapet, behind which is seen 
the Academy of Arts, the Fortress and the Winter Palace—the gilded 
domes of the churches rising above the whole and glittering red in the 
rays of the setting sun—all this forms a picture of which the Peters- 
burgians are justly proud. And the impression produced by this 
scene is not by any means dispelled by entering into the heart of the 
city. Here and there we may experience a sensr tion of barreness, and 
occasionally we may be reminded of “ the city of magnificent dis¬ 
tances;” but this is probably because we are unaccustomed to cities 
laid out by an autocratic architect on land of no value. On the whole, 
the city is grandiose in style and proportion. The streets are for the 
most part wide and straight, and ran at right angles to each other. 
They always start with the intention of going in a perfectly straight 
line, and this intention never encounters any opposition from elevations 
or depressions; but occasionally, w r hen they meet with one of the 
numerous meandering canals, they forget for a moment their rigid 
principles and become flexible. The size of the houses, many of which 
contain a score of independent apartments, Is in keeping with the 
length and breadth of the streets, and the squares, palaces, theatres, 
and churches are on the same colossal scale. The Nefski Prospect is 
certainly one of the finest streets in the world. 

In our character of tourists we naturally “do the sights.” They 
are, fortunately, not very numerous. First we may visit the Her¬ 
mitage, which contains a second-rate collection of Italian and Spanish 
paintings and a first-rate collection of the old Dutch masters. Then 
we may look into one or two collections of modern Russian pictures, 
showing very tolerable work, but nothing of striking originality. If 
we care to see big halls and rich modern upholstery, we may walk 
through the Winter Palace; and, if our tastes be literary we may 
spend an hour or two in the Imperial Public Library, which contains, 
among other curiosities, the library of Voltaire. The interior of the 
great cathedral and the other churches must be seen, but we shall find 
there nothing to detain us long. Indeed, the whole work of sight¬ 
seeing may be got through in a single day, and in the cool of the 
evening we can spend an hour or two in driving about the islands or 
gazing at the sunset from “the Point,” a favorite rendezvous for those 



AOl l CUU|^ 


THE GRAND TOUR 


157 

























































































































































































































































































































































































































































158 


THE GRAND TOUR. 


who are compelled to spend the summer on the banks of the Neva, 
We commonly associate St. Petersburg with ideas of snow and ice, 
costly furs and warm sheepskins; but in reality its inhabitants suffer 
quite as much from heat as from cold. During the long winter the 
ground is always covered with snow, the thermometer sinks occasionally 
to thirty degrees below zero, and, when a cutting east wind blows, the 
noses and ears of foreigners and natives alike are in danger of being 
frost-bitten. Then every house must have double windows and double 
doors, and every room must be heated with hot air or by an enormous 
stove. When you open a pane in the double windows, the cold air 
rushes into the room in the form of steam, and makes you modify your 
American ideas about the necessity of frequently airing an apartment. 
AVhen you go out to walk or drive you must put on a long, high- 
collared fur coat, and cumbrous galoches to protect the feet. You 
perhaps feel inclined to have a run to get up the circulation ; but, if 
the weather is very cold and bright, you had better check that impulse 
and content yourself with simply drawing your fur cloak closer around 
you, for any violent exertion in the very cold, bright days leads almost 
instantaneously to loss of breath, precisely as on the top of a high 
mountain. The lungs, it would seem, can bear only a certain amount 
of very cold atmosphere, and, unlike over-zealous, unconscientious 
trades-people, they refuse to undertake more work than they can 
perform. You imagine, perhaps, that you will indemnify yourself for 
all these discomforts by an unlimited amount of skating; but in this 
you will probably be disappointed. The Russians are not a skating 
people. Snow falls almost as soon as the rivers and lakes are covered 
with ice, so that any long journey on skates is impossible. In St. 
Petersburg, indeed, a skating club was started many years ago, and 
now the Russians have learned to make skating rinks; but the amuse¬ 
ment has never become very popular among the natives, and St. 
Petersburg is, so far as we are aware, the only town in the Empire 
where good rinks are to be found. And even here in the very cold 
weather skating cannot be had, for when the thermometer falls to a 
certain extent the ice becomes hard as glass, and the skates, however 
sharp, will not bite. During the festivities which took place at the 
time of the Duke of Edinburgh’s marriage, fears were entertained that 
the skating f£te prepared by the English colony might be prevented 
in this way; nature, however, showed herself more propitious than 


THE GRAND TOUR. 


159 


was expected, and the fete proved one of the most brilliant ever given 
on the Neva. Many people prefer the excitement of the ice hills to 
the tamer pleasures of the skating rink. If made sufficiently high 
and steep, these “ hills” enable one to enjoy all the pleasure which can 
derived from being pitched out of a high window, without the absolute 
certainty of breaking one’s neck. Men of sporting tendencies can 
have a still more exciting kind of amusement in the form of a bear 
hunt. It must, however, be admitted that bear hunting is not quite 
such an heroic amusement as the name seems to indicate. There are, 
indeed in some of the outlying provinces, a few peasants who may 
fairly be called “mighty hunters,” men who can go out alone into the 
forest and face old Bruin with nothing more deadly in their hands 
thau a heavy wooden club and a long knife. Report says that some¬ 
where in the Ural there is even a woman who regularly seeks such 
dangerous encounters, and always succeeds in bagging the game. But 
that is not the kind of bear hunting which is practised by the amateur 
sportsmen of St. Petersburg. We may tell you, gentle reader, in strict 
confidence, that the bear is always bought before it is shot. When 
peasants discover one of the shaggy fraternity enjoying his winter 
siesta, their first care is to find a purchaser, and for this purpose they 
send a deputy to some member of the sporting world in the city. A 
bargain is made (the sum depending on the distance of the lair from a 
railway station), and on the appointed day a party of sportsmen, armed 
with rifles, proceed to the spot. The beaters then go into the forest 
and. endeavor, by howling and yelling, to rouse the bear and drive 
him to the point where the sportsmen are waiting to receive him. If 
the affair has been well arranged he has little chance of escape. Being 
of a naturally pacific disposition, he tries to get away from his howling 
persecutors, and runs unsuspectingly “ into the jaws of death.” Thus, 
you see, gentle reader, amateur bear shooting is not a very dangerous 
amusement. Still, if you have had no experience of the kind, you 
will do well to be cautious. Though your contract with the peasant 
may have been made in due form, remember that the bear has not 
signed it, and consequently does not consider himself bound to act as 
he is desired. He will make oft if he possibly can; but, if he cannot, 
he may show in a very disagreeable way his instinct of self-preservation 
and his means of self-defence. The rule you have to follow is—either 
make a good hit or a good miss. In the one case you disable your 


160 


THE GRAND TOUR. 


enemy, and in the other you enable him to escape. If you adopt a 
middle course and wound him, look out for your scalp! Before you 
have time to think of a second shot you may find yourself in the 
savage brute’s embrace. Perhaps you may be released by a well- 
aimed, well-timed shot from one of your companions; otherwise your 
plight will be miserable indeed. The Autocrat of All the Russias 
himself, in his own dominions, had a few years ago a very narrow 
escape of the kind. But for the timely aid of the two spearmen who 
always accompany his Majesty on such occasions, the bear would have 
caused some alterations to be made in the Almanack de Gotha , and 
have exercised a considerable and lasting influence on European 
history. 

There is something at once solemnizing and ridiculous in the 
thought that a humble quadruped, belonging to a family whose name 
has never been mentioned in connection with the suffrage, should be 
able—or almost able—in a moment of blind rage to modify the des¬ 
tinies of a great empire! Yet so it is. In America bears might 
swallow half a dozen Presidents, and even two or three Cabinet 
Ministers, without materially modifying the policy of the country; but 
in Russia the case is quite different. There the Sovereign can do as 
he or she pleases, and the Imperial decision may be determined by a 
very insignificant item in the chapter of accidents. There is a capital 
illustration of this in the anecdote told of the Empress Elizabeth. 
She was about to sign a very important treaty, which would have 
compelled her to declare war, when an indiscreet fly, regardless of the 
divinity that doth hedge an Empress, alighted near her pen and made 
a blot. The incident seemed to her Majesty an evil omen, and made 
such an impression upon her that she laid the paper aside and never 
finished her signature. Thus a common little fly, with no more 
intellectual ability than is required to make a blot, had more political 
influence than the sixteen millions of inhabitants which at that time 
formed the population of the Empire! 

We have recently heard a good deal about the popular pressure to 
which the Czar is supposed to yield ; and some Russians even go as far 
as to assert that his Majesty never does anything contrary to the 
popular will. “ Our Government,” say these, “ though autocratic in 
form, is in reality representative. Though we have no Parliament, 
we have other means of expressing our wishes, and the Emperor 


THE GRAND TOUR . 


161 



A Russian Escort en route to Military Camp at Piva. 


cannot disregard them.” Certain Russians love to speak in this tone 
to foreigners; but they would never think of doing so to their own 
countrymen. If they really believe what they say, then it is a case 
of the wish being father to the thought. The Emperor is himself a 
Russian, and consequently to some extent under the same influences as 
his people; but he is quite capable of having an independent opinion 
or of adopting the opinions of a small minority, as he has done in the 
question of classical verms scientific education, and no amount of 
popular clamor can in such a case shake his determination. But is 
he not, as certain other people, forced to yield to piesure of another 
kind ? The whole country, say these, is undermined by revolutionary 
propaganda. The Czar sits, as it were, on a volcano, and is obliged to 
let out from time to time a little of the explosive material, lest he and 
his whole family should be blown into the air. At the present moment, 
for instance, he has adopted the Napoleonic ruse of making war, so 
that the attention of his more patriotic than loyal subjects should be 
withdrawn from home affairs. All this is utterly false. There doe? 

11 











162 


THE GRAND TOUR. 


exist a certain revolutionary propaganda, which causes the Goverment 
a great deal of unnecessary trouble, but it has not the slightest chance 
of overthrowing the existing order of things. The great mass of the 
nation are devotedly and unreservedly attached to the reigning dynasty, 
and would strongly disapprove of anything which tended to limit the 
autocratic power. Not only the revolutionary tendencies, but even 
the legitimate cnnstitutional aspirations are confined to a very small 
minority of the people, and whatever the Czar commands is certain to 
meet with no serious resistance. 

But to return. We were saying that the Petersburgians have to 
suffer as much from heat as from cold. Though the winter is long 
and dreary, it does not last all the year round. Some time in April 
or the beginning of May the warm weather comes. The snow melts, 
leaving oceans of slush in the streets, the sledges are replaced by 
wheeled vehicles, the ice on the river begins to move, the steamers 
and sailing craft which have been imprisoned for six months prepare 
for work, and the sun sends down a flood of heat, as if anxious to 
make up for lost time. Soon the grass, the shrubs, and the trees show 
signs of reviving, and in the space of a few days the bare branches 
and twigs cover themselves with the fresh, bright foliage of spring. 
This is the most delightful time of year in Northern Russia. Unfor¬ 
tunately, it is as short as delightful. Ere a few weeks have passed, 
the sunshine that was so pleasant after the long black winter, becomes 
oppressive. The bright verdure of the foliage becomes sickly gray, 
the air becomes heavy, the odors that glide about the streets remind 
one that the drainage of the city is far from perfect, the pleasant 
houses that one frequented during the winter months are one after 
another shut up, the accustomed faces are no longer met with in the 
streets, and those who are obliged to remain in the city feel like the 
poor orphan schoolboy who does not go home for the holidays. Among 
the upper classes there are few such unfortunates. Those who cannot 
go to estates in the country or make a foreign tour find for the most 
part summer quarters in the islands, or at Tsarskoe Selo, Pavlofsk, 
Strelna, Peterhof, or some other place in the immediate neighborhood. 
Then come the long, long midsummer days, when the night brings 
neither darkness nor coolness. How different from the ordinary con¬ 
ception of St. Petersburg—the city of ice and snow! All extremes 
of temperature are objectionable, but in St. Petersburg, where every- 


THE GRAND TOUR. 


163 


thing is arranged for winter, extreme heat is much more disagreeable 
than extreme cold. Let us, then, tarry no longer. We have “ done 
the sights” as conscientiously as can be expected, so we may join the 
southeastward exodus and pay a flying visit to Moscow. 

the railway by which we travel is one of the oldest in the country, 
and was constructed under the personal supervision of the Emperor 
Nicholas. That explains the massive style of construction. Nicholas 
was a man who loved to do everything in the grand style, and was not 
in the habit cf accurately counting the cost. The Moscow Railway 
reflects his character truly in this respect. It runs almost in a straight 
lino, because the Czar so ordered it, and the principal stations are built 
in a massive—one might almost say a grandiose—style. At each of 
these the train stops long enough to enable the passengers to dine or 
sup copiously—an arrangement that necessarily causes considerable 
delay, but has some corresponding advantages. The whole distance 
is about four hundred miles, and the journey is made by express train 
in about fifteen hours. 

The tourist’s first impressions of Moscow do not prepossess him 
favorably. The railway station is in the outskirts of the town, and 
the streets which lead to the central quarter are narrow, winding, 
dirty, and execrably paved. The jerks and jolting would certainly 
prove too much for the springs of any American carriage, and try 
severely the traveller’s muscles, sinews, and good nature. But when 
he reaches the central part, if he have aught of the picturesque and 
antiquarian instincts in him, he will immediately forget any little 
personal inconveniences. There before him rises the Kremlin in all 
its quaint originality. He gazes with wonder, not unmixed with 
admiration, at the high stone walls, the curious old towers, the vener¬ 
able Cathedral with its gilded cupolas, and the grotesque Church of 
St. Basil, one of the most fantastic architectural conceptions that ever 
issued from human brain. And when he examines the details he finds 
most interesting objects that recall every period of Russian history. 
There are still remains of the time when Moscow was but one among 
many independent Principalities, when all “the Russian land,” and 
Moscow as part of it, paid tribute to the Tartar Khan. Much more 
numerous are the remains of the period when the ancient city had 
risen high above her rivals, had thrown off the Tartar yoke, and had 
combined all the independent Principalities into the Czardom of Mus- 


164 


THE GRAND TOUR . 


covy. That was the period when Ivan III. ordered an Italian architect 
to construct the fantastic Church of St. Basil—when Ivan IV., sur- 
narned the Terrible, broke the power of the proud old Muscovite 
aristocracy and quenched the republican spirit of Novgorod in the 
blood of eighty thousand of its inhabitants—when the Poles and 
Cossacks overran the country, and ruthlessly pillaged, murdered and 
desecrated in a w r ay that Bashi-Basouks might have been proud of— 
when the mild, pious Alexis invited to his dominions all manner of 
cunning foreign artificers and soldiers skilled in the art of war, thereby 
paving the w T ay for his energetic son, who was afterwards to be known 
as Peter the Great. Peter loved not the conservative Muscovites, and 
the conservative Muscovites loved him not. In order to carry out his 
vast reforms he was obliged to build a new capital and to transport 
thither the seat of Government; but Moscow retained, and still 
retains, the first place in the hearts of the Russian people; and once, 
at least, in modern times she has shown herself worthy of that affec¬ 
tion. When, in 1812, Napoleon invaded the country, and fondly 
imagined that from the Kremlin he could dictate his own terms of 
peace, she forgot all selfish interests and nobly sacrificed herself on the 
altar of the Fatherland. 

Moscow and St. Petersburg represent in a very graphic way the 
two great periods of Russian history. The old capital has a look of 
antiquity and irregularity which show that, like the famous Topsy, it 
“ growedwhilst the new capital is regularly built, and bears every¬ 
where traces of having been constructed according to a clearly-conceived 
plan. Russian history before Peter the Great closely resembles Mos¬ 
cow. Down to the time of the Great Reformer the country had a 
natural spontaneous life, struggling with difficulties as they arose and 
solving them more or less successfully by its own traditional wisdom. 
If the old Muscovite Czars had any grand definite policy, it was to 
extend their dominions as rapidly as possible, and to retain all political 
power in their own hands. They had no idea of civilizing their 
subjects or of constructing a symmetrical Administration according to 
the principles of political science. They were not averse to having in 
their service a few foreigners who knew something of architecture, 
artillery, and other useful arts; but they did not go much further in 
that direction, and even that little was very distasteful to their subjects. 
The ordinary Russian of that day regarded everything foreign as 


THE GRAND TOUR. 


165 



Fort Miveanitzia, Black Sea. 


heretical and dangerous to salvation. He did not object to hard 
drinking, because that was a good old national institution, sanctified 
by immemorial custom; but he was very much scandalized by the 
sight of a tobacco pipe, because smoking was a foreign invention 
patronized b} r Papists and Protestants. And in this, as in all similar 
matters, he could give a reason for the faith that was in him. The 
distinction between intoxicating vodka and the fragrant weed was 
founded on no less authority than Holy Writ, for is it not written that 
a man is defiled, not by that which entereth into him— i.e., vodka— 
but by that which cometh out of his mouth— i.e., tobacco smoke? 
Whether they had equally good authority for the other parts of their 
conservative creed we know not, but we do know that they stuck with 
great tenacity to their time-honored customs and beliefs, and some¬ 
times showed themselves ready to die rather than depart from what 
had been observed by their forefathers. Among such people it re¬ 
quired a very strong and a very bold man to introduce even moderate 
reforms, and any ordinary mortal, though strong and bold as his 
fellows, would have considered it simple madness to attempt any 

















166 


THE GRAND TOUR . 


sweeping changes in the social or political life. But Czar Peter was 
not an ordinary mortal. He had that impetuous rashness and that 
reckless contempt for opposition which drive their possessor either to 
destruction or to a high place among historical personages. Having 
travelled in foreign countries, he had been charmed by the results of 
Western civilization, and determined to introduce it into his own 
country, however unpalatable it might be to his people and their 
priests. The scheme was a daring—we might almost say mad—one, 
and certainly could be justified by nothing but success; but it had 
that best of justifications. Not that all Peter’s schemes turned out 
successful. Far from it. Very many of his plans utterly broke down, 
and even those which had a better fate did not produce nearly all the 
beneficent results which he anticipated. But he did succeed in break¬ 
ing with the past and putting his country on a new road. Russia was 
no longer allowed to “ grow” after its own fashion. Its institutions were 
remodelled according to the political wisdom of Germany, Holland, 
Denmark, and France, and the upper classes were compelled to adopt 
the dress, and in a lesser degree the ideas, of Western Europe. The 
conservative tendencies of the nobles were extracted partly by the 
new schools and partly the old knout , whilst the priests, monks, and 
ecclesiastical dignitaries were kept in order by the civil power. In 
short, the Czardom of Muscovy, with its ancient venerable capital on 
the Moskva, was transformed into the Empire of Russia with a brand- 
new capital on the Neva. Up to that time Muscovy had been 
considered an Asiatic Principality, and the Czars had been regarded 
by the Christian Potentates of Europe pretty much as the petty 
princes of Central Asia are regarded by us at the present day; from 
that time onwards Russia was to be one of the European Powers, and 
her Imperial rulers were to have a hand in all the great congresses, 
conferences, and other ingenious expedients by which short-sighted, 
feeble-handed Diplomacy endeavors to preserve the public peace. 

The rapidity with which Russia has grown during these two 
hundred years is certainly amazing. In 1682 her geographical area 
was about 5,600,000 square miles; in 1867 it was about 7,535,000. 
The increase in her population is even more astounding. Between 
1722 and 1857—that is to say, in less than a century and a half—it has 
risen from 14,000,000 to 74,000,000! Political prophets, who found 
their predictions on materials invisible to ordinary eyes and unintel 


THE GRAND TOUR . 


1C? 


ligible to the ordinary understanding, sometimes declare confidently 
that the great Colossus must soon fall to pieces. For our own part, we 
cannot lay claim to the gift of prophecy, political or other; but we 
must say we cannot discover any symptoms of this expected disruption, 
nor can we discover anything that seems likely to grow into local 
political independence. Nowhere is there what a German might call 
a healthy, vigorous “ separatism us.” The Russian who lives long in an 
outlying province may adopt some of the manners and customs of the 
natives, but his political instincts and sympathies remain unchanged. 
The idea of dismembering the empire probably never entered his 
mind, and if it is suggested to him it will sound in his ears almost as 
blasphemy. A recent traveller in Siberia, who has published his 
observations, asserts that he found there the germs of a separate 
nationality. In Siberia, he declares, a considerable part of the educated 
population is composed of Polish exiles and their descendants, who 
are neither Poles nor Russians, but Siberians. But, without calling 
these statements in question, we cannot accept the conclusion that 
these Siberians are likely to found a separate nationality and acquire 
political independence. These men of Polish extraction form but a 
very small section of the people, and their members are not increasing 
nearly as rapidly as the purely Russian population. All Siberians 
have, it is true, certain slight peculiarities of character and manners 
which distinguish them from the ordinary Russian, but they are, so 
far as we have been able to form a judgment, thoroughly Russian in 
feeling and sympathies. Everywhere in European Russia the rail¬ 
ways are rapidly destroying the little local life that formerly existed, 
and the telegraphs have diminished the little independence which the 
local administration formerly enjoyed. 

If we visit the Ethnographical Museum, which is one of the most 
interesting sights in Moscow, we may feel inclined for a moment to 
look favorably on the predictions of Russian dismemberment. We 
find there an immense collection of lay-figures, representing all the 
nationalities which profess allegiance to the Czar; and to tell the truth 
it is a motley company. There is the Samoyed, covered with reindeer 
skin from head to foot, and a hideous group of Fire-Worshippers from 
Bakou, wearing only a minimum of clothing—the squat, stunted 
Buriat, and the tall, stalwart Cossack—the uncouth, timid Tchuwash, 
and the agile, fierce Circassian—Tcheremiss and Votiaks, Bashkirs and 



168 


THE GRAND TOUR. 


Kirghis, Tartars and Kalmucks, Poles and Germans, Georgians and 
Jews, Persians and Lesgians. Turning to the religious statistics, we 
find an almost equally great variety—Greek-Orthodox, sectarians of 
every denomination, Gregorians, Roman Catholics, Protestants, Jews, 
Mohammedans, Idolaters! Surely, in a nation which comprises so 
many races and so many religions, there must be many dangerous 
elements of discord and disruption. No doubt there are; but the 
danger is not nearly so great as at first sight appears. Though there 
are many races, the Russians oompose four-fifths of the population. 
The Finns show the respectable number of more than four millions 
and a half, but they have no nationality, in the political sense. The 
word includes a dozen tribes, which have no common language, no 
recollection of political unity, no special bond of sympathy with each 
other, and which are being rapidly Russianized. The Jews amount to 
nearly two millions and a half; but in Russia, as elsewhere, the 
children of Israel have no separatist political aspirations. The only 
nationality likely to cause the Russians any serious trouble is the 
Poles, and they have very little chance of ever regaining their political 
independence, which would be a thorn in the side not only of Russia 
but also of Germany and Austria, The Baltic Provinces are some¬ 
times supposed to have a better chance. The inhabitants, it is said, 
are Germans; and though they have little power of their own, they 
may, perhaps, induce Bismarck, or one of his successors, to espouse their 
cause and unite them with the German Fatherland from which they 
have been so long separated. To those who speak in this way it must 
be admitted that everything is possible; but it must be added that there 
are probable things and improbable things, and that the annexation of 
the Baltic Provinces by Germany belongs decidedly to the improbable. 
The majority of the population are not German but Finnish. The 
nobles and the commercial classes are alone German, and they cannot 
reasonably desire annexation to Germany, for they would thereby lose 
the important advantages afforded them by their present anomalous 
position. The nobles supply a very large proportion of the Russian 
“generals,” civil and military, and play a far more important part 
than they could possibly play in the German Empire. In like manner 
the commercial classes would greatly suffer by annexation, for the com¬ 
mercial importance of the provinces would be immensely diminished 
if they ceased to be Russian. 


TRADE AND INDUSTRIES . 


lG'J 


CHAPTER IX. 

TRADE AND INDUSTRIES. 

In a country with so many nationalities we naturally expect to find 
an endless variety of curious primitive industries, and we think with 
pleasure of the neat, original objects that we will take home as presents 
to our friends and relations. Perhaps we even dream of making a 
little Russian museum in our library, and are impatient to go to the 
bazaars. Let us go thither by all means. The bazaar is in the 
“ Chinese Town,” close to the Kremlin, so that on our way we can 
have another look at those picturesque old walls and fantastic towers. 
But we must not expect to find many curiosities for our museum, or 
we will inevitably be disappointed, Neither the Russians nor the 
various tribes which they have annexed are very remarkable for 
mechanical ingenuity or refined natural taste. In many parts of the 
country there are peculiar local industries; but of the articles pro¬ 
duced very many—such as big boxes, tubs, stoneware jars, and wooden 
sledges—cannot be conveniently stowed away in a portmanteau; and 
others—such as nails, tar, and tallow’—are scarcely suitable for presents. 
Still there are a few objects that w T ill suit our purpose. Some heretical 
foreigners buy unconsecrated Icons as mantelpiece ornaments, and 
purchase largely cloth of gold and silver, from which ecclesiastical vest¬ 
ments are made, for the purpose of making window-curtains and 
covering drawing-room furniture; but it is to be hoped that we have 
sufficient veneration for things sacred not to encourage such a practice. 
AVe may, however, buy as a curiosity some specimens of the cloth of 
gold, much of which is extremely beautiful in design and workman¬ 
ship. From the numerous patterns, many of which are commonplace 
and gaudy, we will have no difficulty in selecting specimens of genuine 
old Byzantine ornamentation. Then there are the enamels. If w r e 
can find a good specimen of what the French call email cloisonne , we 
may safely give a good price for it, and not regret our bargain. If 
nothing of that kind is to be had, we may invest in a few of the ordi¬ 
nary modern enameled cups. Many of them are exquisite both in 
design and color. The niello work, too, can be recommended. But the 


TRADE AND INDUSTRIES. 


170 



A Russian Inn. 


most thoroughly original of all is the lace and the embroidery on 
towels, both of which are made by the peasantry according to tradi¬ 
tional models. 

Now that we have completed our purchases, let us go and have some 
refreshment in a “traktir”—a genuine national institution where we 
are likely to find some “ local color.” There is a large one close by 
and we are sure to find there some good specimens of the Russian 
merchant class. 

Ihe room is not very large, and a considerable part of it is occupied 
by the enormous automatic barrel-organ, which reaches to the ceiling, 
and is intended to represent an entire orchestra. The instrument 
might perhaps be pleasant in a gigantic hall; but here, in this small, 
low-roofed apartment, it is simply deafening, so that we cannot but 
think, with all due deference to Muscovite taste, that the ten thousand 






\ 



















































TRADE AND INDUSTRIES. 


171 


dollars expended on its construction might have been more profitably 
employed. Such, however, is not the opinion of the native inmates, 
and they ought to know best. They thoroughly enjoy the harmonious 
din, and delight especially in the deep bas3 notes that make the 
building shake. In the music there is nothing Russian or peculiar. 
It is simply a collection of the Italian operatic airs which organ- 
grinders patronize, and the instrument is merely a magnified, intensified 
barrel-organ, such as a bilious man might see and hear in a horrible 
nightmare. Next to the organ the most conspicuous object in the room 
is the big tea-urn, which likewise reaches almost to the ceiling, and has 
from its magnitude also a nightmare look about it. How many gallons 
of boiling water it may contain we know not, but we have no doubt 
that if the quantity could be calculated the result would cause no little 
astonishment. It forms the centre of activity in the place, and round 
it collect the waiters—active, intelligent youths, dressed in white 
trousers and light silk shirts worn in the form of a blouse, who dart 
about like swallows. The third object in the order of magnitude is 
that portly Muscovite who sits by the window—as round and almost 
as capacious as the tea-urn. He has just finished his sixth tumblerful 
of scalding tea, and shows no signs of flagging. Had weak tea been 
the beverage in which the old Teutonic topers indulged, that worthy 
Slav might have held his own among them, and worthily upheld at 
the great drinking-bouts the honor of his race. As it is, he has no 
consciousness of being anything heroic, any more than the old giants 
were when they went about their daily avocations. He is merely 
drinking his tea in a quiet, steady, business-like way, as a respectable, 
weighty Moscow merchant should do; and, as to the quantity, it is 
nothing more than he and his fellow-merchants are accustomed to. 
His neighbor, it is true—that lean, white-haired man—cannot keep 
pace with him, but that is not wonderful, for he is not a genuine 
Russian merchant—at least, he was not so born and bred. Though 
the two men are now on a certain footing of equality, both being 
weighty men on ’Change, their past history is very different. The 
capacious gentleman is the son of a peasant, and was in his youth a 
serf like his father. By his own efforts he scaled the ladder of fortune 
—no one but himself knows precisely how, for he never troubles his 
friends with autobiographical details; and now he is one of the richest 
men in the city. A stranger, judging by his appearance, might 


172 


TRADE AND INDUSTRIES. 


reasonably hesitate before lending him a shilling, but any one at all 
acquainted with the commercial world of Moscow would know that his 
word is good for several hundred thousand roubles. His. friend beside 
him is of a very different origin. He was born a noble, received a 
good education, and was for some time a professor in the University. 
He loved letters, but he loved financing still more; and when limited 
liability companies came into fashion he launched boldly into numerous 
speculations, and rapidly amassed a large fortune. The third person 
at that table by the window represents another category of merchants 
—a category that is as yet not very numerous. Like the portly 
personage, he is of humble origin; but, unlike him, he is a man of 
some education. His father, though not very wealthy, had been able 
to send him to school, so that now he is not only well grounded in the 
three R’s, but can even speak French. His accent, it is true, is far 
from perfect, and his grammar is by no means faultless; but he can 
talk well enough for all practical commercial purposes, and that 
amply satisfies his linguistic ambition. The other guests almost all 
belong, like these, to the commercial world. Some of them indulge in 
caviar, sterlet, sturgeon, fish-soup, pickled cucumbers, buckwheat, and 
other favorite Russian viands, but the majority confine themselves 
to weak tea, flavored with lemon, of which they drink appalling 
quantities. 

We must now, however, leave the ancient capital and take a glance 
at the provinces. To effect this we cannot do better than make a 
voyage down the Volga. We can get on board at Yaroslaff, and sail 
down with the current for five or six days. As the weather promises 
to be fine, we shall no doubt find it very pleasant. But how are we 
to get to Yaroslaff? As to that, there is no difficulty, for the distance 
is only about one hundred and thirty-five miles, and there is a railway 
all the way. You calculate accordingly that the journey will take 
five or six hours, and that you will make it in the day time, so as to 
get an idea of the country through which the railway passes. If you 
really mean to do it in this way you must order a special train. Of 
the ordinary trains, including expresses, there is only one in the 
twenty-four hours, and it does not fulfill the required conditions. In¬ 
stead of five or six hours, it takes eleven or twelve, and it starts about 
nine o’clock in the evening. AVe may, however, make a compromise. 
There is a morning train to Troitsa, about two hours’ distance from 



TRADE AND JND US TRIES. 


Grand Duke Michael, Commander of the Russian Army in Asia. 


Moscow, on the Yaroslaff line. We can spend a day agreeably in 
visiting the famous monastery, the name of which is familiar to every 
Russian, for there would be great difficulty in finding a genuine Rus¬ 
sian peasant, either on this side or the other side of the Ural, who ha» 



174 


TRADE AXD INDUSTRIES. 


never heard of Troitsa. Often in some distant village, where you 
might think that the inhabitants had never been, metaphorically 
speaking, “ half a mile from home,” you may light on old men and 
women who have not only heard of the famous monastery, but have 
also seen it, and can describe it graphically in all its details. The 
explanation of this is that Russian peasants are much given to making 
pilgrimages, and regard it as an occupation very useful not only with 
a view to eternal salvation but also for the cure of bodily evils. Many 
are the wonderful cures that have been effected in this way, when all 
the ordinary resources of medigine and magic have proved unavailing. 
The blind have been made to see, the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, 
and we know not what more besides. The scientific reader here wishes, 
no doubt, to put a question or two: Are these so-called miracles well 
authenticated ? Might not the cures, even when proved as facts, be 
simply fortuitous coincidences ? Or, if this cannot be admitted, may 
we not assume that unusually strong faith may have some as yet 
uninvestigated physiological influence, which has nothing whatever to 
do with supernatural power? To all of which queries we must reply 
as the Scotchman did to his obstinate friend, who persisted in asking 
him whether a bee was a beast or a bird: “ Don’t trouble me with 
theological questions.” 

Whether these alleged cures are natural, supernatural, or mythical 
the peasants believed in them as firmly as they do in Holy Writ— 
rather more firmly, probably, for they know very little of what Holy 
Writ contains, and they do know all the minute details of many such 
miracles. Pilgrimage-making is, accordingly, a favorite occupation 
for aged peasants, and Orthodox believers look on Troitsa and Kief 
with much the same feelings as the good Mussulman looks on Bokhara 
and Mecca. In Russia the ecclesiastical world has not yet been 
invaded by the spirit of modern enterprise. There are as yet no 
“ Cook’s Tourists ” even in the secular world. The noble, it is true, 
who determines to visit one of the sacred places will probably “ take 
the liberty to boil his peas,” or, in plain language, avail himself of the 
railways and other means of conveyance; but the peasant still performs 
this part of his religious duties in the old ascetio style—trudging all 
the way, with staff and wallet, as his forefathers did before him, 
without knowing much about the road, and with very little money in 
his pocket. The word “ pocket,” be it remarked parenthetically, is 


TRADE AND INDUSTRIES. 


175 


here used in a metaphor ical sense, for the Russian peasant commonly 
carries his money, not in his pocket, but in his boot! 

Seen from a little distance, this Monastery of Troitsa—or, more 
correctly, of St. Sergius—has somewhat the look of an old fortress; 
and well it may, for it was during several centuries a very strongly 
fortified place, and the valiant monks were always ready to defend it 
obstinately when occasion demanded. When the Poles and Cossacks 
overran the country, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, 
they did not succeed in getting possession of this stronghold; and 
the Superior played a conspicuous part in the patriotic movement 
by which those invaders were expelled. During the French invasion 
of 1812 it had similar good fortune, or, to speak more reveren¬ 
tially, it was again miraculously saved from the sacrilegious hands 
of heretics and unbelievers. At that time the French troops dese¬ 
crated the churches in the Kremlin of Moscow, appropriated all 
the valuables they found in them, and showed their enlightened 
hostility to superstition by disinterring and treating contemptuously 
the bodies of saints and martyrs. Hearing that there was a famous 
and wealthy monastery about forty miles to the north, they sent some 
troops thither, it is said, for the purpose of desecrating and pillaging; 
but the troops somehow lost their way, or were afraid of venturing too 
far from the main army, and never reached their destination. So, at 
least, we have been told; but, true or not, the story is at least edifying, 
and teaches the moral that the Monastery of St. Sergius is still, even 
in modern times, under the special protection of Heaven. Had the 
French succeeded in taking the place they would have been "well 
rewarded for their trouble, for the treasury contains ecclesiastical 
vessels, vestments, and other objects of enormous value. One may 
behold there, in the course of a few minutes, more pearls than one is 
likely to see elsewhere in a lifetime. What their quality is we know 
not; but if it is at all in proportion to their quantity, then it is a pity 
that an institution, which is by no means fabulously rich, should keep 
such an enormous capital in an unproductive form. Might not the 
precious stones be sold and the interest of the capital devoted to 
education or some benevolent purpose? Such is the idea that naturally 
occurs to the secular mind; but secular minds, we have been told, 
ought not to meddle with ecclesiastical, and especially with monastic 
alfairs. To a suggestion cf the kind any of the monks might reply: 






176 


TRADE AND INDUSTRIES. 



Fort Buyuk Ltman, Black Sea. 


“Our present riches are not a tithe of what we formerly possessed. In 
old times we had vast landed possessions and thousands of serfs, and 
people of all classes gave us of their abundance. Now all is changed. 
Our lands and serfs were confiscated without compensation a century 
ago, and the voluntary contributions do not flow in so liberally as of old. 
Notwithstanding all that, we feed the hungry and do much for educa¬ 
tion. If you look into that large hall over the way you will see a 
goodly number of pilgrims eating the dinner provided for them free 
cf charge, and if you visit those other buildings you will find that we 
have a theological academy which we have no need to be ashamed of. 
Many Bishops and Archbishops of the Russian Church have received 
their education there. Besides this, we have prosperous schools. The 
vessels and vestments you saw are for us sacred things, which should 
not be sold. Man does not live by bread alone.” 

Though the monks may be expected to bear constantly in mind this 
last dictum, the creature comforts are not entirely neglected in Troitsa, 
There is a tolerable hotel belonging to the monastery, and here we can 
have not only the delicate karassi, which are caught in the ponds close 
























TRADE AND INDUSTRIES . 3 77 

by, but also beef, mutton, and other viands from which monks are 
debarred by the rules of the Church. All monks in Russia follow the 
rales of St. Basil—or, at least, profess to follow them, which we may 
charitably suppose for our present purpose to be the same thing—and 
these rules prohibit the use of animal food. They are binding, how 
ever, only on those who take the vows, so that we may enjoy a gooc 
dinner of the ordinary kind without qualms of conscience. The 
afternoon we spend in strolling about and conversing with the pilgrims, 
many of whom come from great distances, and in the evening we 
return to the station and continue our journey. Soon the night closes 
in, but we do not thereby lose much in the way of scenery. The 
country which we traverse is, like nearly the whole of the northern 
half of Russia, a land of forest and morass, with here and there a village 
and an adjoining patch of cultivation. By the time we reach Rostoff, 
the odIv place of interest on the *vute, the sun has already risen. 
Rostoff is a very old town, and was in ancient times the capital of an 
independent principality, the Princes of which were rivals of the 
Princes of Moscow. The family is—if genealogical records are to be 
trusted—still extant, and one member of it is at this moment an officer 
of the Imperial Administration. But the glory of the family has long 
since departed, and the city has become an ordinary provincial town, 
celebrated chiefly for its annual fair. There are several monasteries 
in the town and suburbs, and one of them is curious as having been 
founded by a Tartar! This will seem to modern ears a somewhat 
startling announcement, but in reality it contains nothing very won- 
derful or improbable. Remember that the Tartars were not always 
Mohammedans. When they conquered Russia, in the thirteenth 
century, they were Pagans, with a rude polytheism of some kind, but 
with none of that religious intolerance w T hich Monotheism engenders. 
All foreign religions they treated with impartiality, and even with a 
certain respect. With the Russian clergy they lived on very good 
terms, and one of the Khans used to attend occasionally a Christian 
place of worship. Tartar princesses who married Russian princes, and 
Tartar nobles who. entered a Russian Prince’s service, naturally 
adopted Christianity, just as Protestant Princesses of the present day 
join the Greek Orthodox Church when about to marry the heir appa¬ 
rent to the Russian throne. Even missionaries, it seems, were allowed 
to visit the Tartar camp, and by these various means a certain number 
12 


178 


TRADE AND INDUSTRIES. 


of Tartars became Christians. Thus it was that the son of a certain 
Khan founded a monastery at Rostoff, and after his death he became 
a saint of the Russian Church! Unfortunately, the mass of his peo¬ 
ple did not follow his worthy example. On the contrary, they adopted 
Mohammedanism, and from that time there were no more conversions 
to Christianity. We have here an instance of those apparently 
fortuitous events which exercise an incalculable influence on human 
history. If the Tartars and their cousins the Turks had adopted 
Christianity instead of Islamism, how different the history of Eastern 
Europe would have been! 

After leaving Rostoff, which, by-the-by, must not be confounded 
with the town of the same name on the Don, we arrive in about two 
hours at Yaroslaff, which was also at one time the capital of an inde¬ 
pendent principality. It is a very fair specimen of Russian provincial 
towns. What strikes the traveller most is the large number of 
churches—a peculiarity which gives the place a picturesque appear¬ 
ance. Like Russian churches in general, they have bright green roofs, 
out of which rise one or five painted cupolas—green, blue, or gilt— 
and some of them have curious, picturesque belfries. The interior of 
the town is less pleasing than the view from a distance. The streets 
are infamously paved; very many of the houses are in a by no means 
satisfactory state of repair; and there is in general a look of careless¬ 
ness and squalor. After the churches and monasteries, which seem to 
be out of all proportion to the number of inhabitants, the largest 
buildings are the Government offices, which look into a vast open 
space—something between a square and a big fallow field of wilder¬ 
ness. Running parallel with this open space, behind a row of irregular 
houses, is the Promenade—a long, shady walk, overlooking the river 
and the flat country beyond. If tradition is to be trusted, this Prome¬ 
nade had a rather curious origin. The story deserves to be recorded, 
as illustrating “ the good old times” which have only recently passed 
away. It was to the following effect: Some time during the first 
quarter of the present century a fabulously rich merchant of the town 
was convicted of forgery and sentenced to transportation for life. 
Under ordinary circumstances this commercial Croesus might easily 
have escaped, for he was willing to pay a very large sum for his release, 
and the Russian officials of that time were fearfully corrupt; but the 
Governor of Yaroslaff happened to be, by some accident, an honest 


TRADE AND INDUSTRIES. 


179 



Consecration of a Bulgarian Banner. 


man, and stubbornly refused to be bribed. In spite of refusals, the 
efforts were continued, and at last it occurred to the Governor that the 
sums offered him might be usefully employed for some public object. 
A proposition was therefore made to the culprit that if he would give 
150,000 roubles for the construction of a promenade on the high bank 
of the river, he would be allowed to escape the penalty of the law. 
The proposal was accepted, and the money paid, and then began the 
process of effecting the arrangement with all the appearance of legality. 
This is the most curious part of the affair. Though the Governor was 
a powerful man and could do all manner of unlawful things, he had 
to respect all forms and formalities most scrupulously, like an ordinary 
mortal. A little official comedy, therefore, had to be played. One I 
document certified that the prisoner had died, and another, duly 
signed, gave the results of the post-mortem examination. Then the 
coffin, which was supposed to contain the remains of the deceased, 
received the rites of Christian burial, and some more official docu- 















180 


TRADE AND INDUSTRIES. 


merits were drawn up and signed. Everything was done in such 
perfect order that had the affair been afterwards investigated it would 
have been found that no irregularity had been committed. And no 
one had any reason to complain. The culprit got off with a heavy 
fine, which taught him, let us hope, to avoid forgery for the future; 
the Governor had the satisfaction of feeling that he had conferred a 
great benefit on the town, and the inhabitants received a very agree¬ 
able promenade without being obliged to pay for its construction. 

At the end of the Promenade, overlooking the river and the wilder¬ 
ness aforesaid, stands a long, high edifice, built originally in the 
barracks style of architecture, but now adorned, somewhat incohe¬ 
rently, with Corinthian columns, This is the Lyceum, founded for 
the benefit of the nobles of the province by a member of the wealthy 
Demidof family, and now transformed into a school of law for the 
benefit of the whole Empire. There are juridical faculties in all 
the Universities—in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kharkof, Kief, Odessa, 
and Dorpat—but this is the only public school devoted exclusively to 
the study of law. Let us enter and get some idea of what a Russian 
school of law is. We cannot but be charmed by the general appear¬ 
ance of the interior. The rooms are large, well ventilated, scrupu¬ 
lously clean, and in every respect admirably arranged. Here is a 
framed document showing the course of study. The completeness of 
it is very surprising, and certainly not to be expected in this out-of-the- 
way corner of the world. There are lectures on all kinds of law— 
Roman, Russian, commercial, criminal, international—and also on 
cognate subjects, such as juridical philosophy, political economy, and 
finance. Youths who try to master all these subjects in three or four 
years are apt to get a mere smattering of many things without 
thoroughly mastering any. But a few minutes’ conversation with the 
enlightened director suffice to allay our fears on this score. Whilst 
maintaining that a course of study should be wide and “ liberal” in 
the best sense of the term, he recognizes that the students should 
confine their best energies to a few fundamental subjects, and regard 
the others as merely subsidiary and complementary. From the class¬ 
rooms we pass to the library, where we find over nine thousand 
independent works—perhaps twice as many volumes—in various 
European languages. But the most interesting part at the present 
moment is a very remarkable collection of books relating to the 


TRADE AND INDUSTRIES. 


181 

Slavonic province of Turkey, and in general to the Eastern Question. 
On that subject we can get here the most complete information, iu 
important contributions from Germany, France, and the Slavs them¬ 
selves. Altogether, the arrangements are so well adapted to the wants 
of the studious that we feel inclined to sit down and begin at once a 
long course of reading and study. But we must not yield to the 
temptation, for a great part of our proposed tour lies before us. 

The Volga need not detain us very long. If we made the voyage in 
the flesh we should have to devote to it at least five or six days; but 
making it as we are doing, we may accomplish it in a very few 
minutes. The banks on both sides for some time after leaving Yaro- 
slaff are flat and uninteresting, and, with the exception of the large 
and much-venerated monastery to the right, we notice nothing worthy 
of special attention till we reach Kostroma, a considerable town, 
picturesquely situated on a bit of rising ground to the left. Had we 
time to disembark here we should be sure of a hearty welcome from the 
worthy and hospitable Vice-Governor. Let us employ the few minutes 
at our disposal to pay our respects to him, and then go on by the 
steamer. The night is spent in groping our way cautiously among 
shoals and sand-banks, and some time on the morrow we arrive at 
Nizhni-Novgorod. As the Great Fair is at present going on, we must 
remain here for at least a few hours. All who take the least interest 
in Russia have heard of this great annual gathering, which is some¬ 
times spoken of as if it were one of the seven wonders of the world. 
We must not, however, expect to find anything very wonderful. In 
former times, perhaps, when Russian commerce wrs in a more primi¬ 
tive condition, the Great Fair was really a most interesting institution. 
Old men relate how numerous merchants from China and from all the 
petty states of Central Asia used to bring their goods hither for sale ; 
and how landed proprietors from all parts of the country used to come 
hither for the purpose of laying in their yearly supply of household 
goods. But all this has been to a great extent modified by the con¬ 
struction of railways and similar causes. Traders and purchasers still 
come from all parts of the country, but they are by no means so 
numerous; and the number of Asiatics which one meets is very small. 
Much has been done, however, for the convenience of those who do 
come. Instead of the miserable wooden sheds in which the merchan¬ 
dise was formerly stored, there are now long rows of brick buildings; 




182 


TRADE AND INDUSTRIES. 


and the spaces between them, though muddy enough in wet weather, 
can at all times be forded by those who prudently provide themselves 
with high boots. For those who wish to study the peculiar conditions 
of Russian trade, two or three weeks may be profitably employed here, 
but the mere tourist who is in search of nothing more serious than 
“ first impressions” will find a few hours quite sufficient for his purpose. 
By that time he will have seen specimens enough of the big burly 
Russian merchant, the patient, listless peasant, the unmistakable, 
irrepressible Jew, the picturesque Georgian, the polite, keen-eyed Per¬ 
sian, and the numerous kinds of merchandise which these various 
personages offer for sale. 

At Nizhni we leave the small, uncomfortable, flat-bottomed steamer 
in which we have hitherto travelled, and get on board a large commo¬ 
dious steamer built on the American model and resembling closely 
those that ply on the Hudson and the Mississippi. From the spacious 
upper deck we can enjoy at our ease what little scenery there is to see. 
The left bank is flat and uninteresting, but the right bank sometimes 
rises to a considerable height in a gently sloping fashion, and occa¬ 
sionally a town or village is seen on the slope. On both sides there 
are pretty bits of wooding, and on the whole the scenery, though tame, 
is pleasing enough. Though it is a land with which we have few 
bonds of sympathy, and the names of the places we pass are to us but 
empty sounds, which convey no idea and awaken no old memories, yet 
the country through which we are passing has its historical associations, 
like other countries. To the north lies the land of the Tcheremiss, and 
to the south the land of the Tchuvash, and in both of them many a 
stubborn battle was fought between Russians and Finns. In this 
valley of the Volga many a time the Tartar hordes swept along like a 
whirlwind, spreading death and devastation in their track. There, 
beside that old monastery, sacred to Macarius, is a spot which for every 
Russian must be classic ground, for it is there that was held, in ancient 
times, the Great Fair that is now held at Nizhni. We soon reach 
Kazan, once the capital of an independent Khanate, which was cap¬ 
tured by Ivan the Terrible, and where many a brave Russian found a 
grave before its walls. At the junction of the Volga with the Kama, 
which comes down from the Ural Mountains, is a monument still more 
ancient and venerable. Not far from the river, and almost visible 
from the deck of the steamer, stands the ruins of the old town of 


TRADE AND INDUSTRIES. 


183 



A Military Reception in St. Petersburg. 


Bolgari, an ancient capital of the people who are now settled to the 
south of the Danube and are known by the name of Bulgarians. 
Next comes, high up on the left bank, the town of Simbirsk, about 
which there is not much to be said, except that it was entirely de¬ 
stroyed by fire some fifteen years ago, and has since been rebuilt. 
Then the Zhiguli hills heave in sight, rich in traditions as the Rhine* 
land, and once frequented by freebooters daring as those of the Scottish 
Highlands, whom Walter Scott has immortalized! 

At Tsaritsin we leave the steamer and cross over to the Don, which 
is only about thirty or forty miles distant. Whilst driving through 
the town, preparatory to starting, we notice one thing that is very 
characteristic. On the market-place and close to the railway station 
we observe two strange looking tents, and on going nearer, we see that 
it is a little colony of Kalmucks. Such are the curious contrasts to 
be found in Russia—pastoral nomads and railway porters within a 
stone throw of each other. 

After a fearful amount of jolting on the execrably constructed 






















184 


TRADE AND INDUSTRIES. 


railway, which here connects the Volga with the Don, we reach 
Kalatch and get on board the steamer. The scenery of the Don is 
8till less interesting than that of the Volga, and the navigation, in 
spite of the flat bottoms and small draught of the steamers, is still 
more intricate and difficult. We have, however, the feeliug that we 
are at least in a semi-historical country. We have all heard of the 
famous Cossacks of the Don—though we may know little about the 
details of their history and their long struggle with the Tartars—and, 
accordingly, we look with interest at the specimens which we meet on 
board. Fine, big, muscular fellows they are, and much more amiable 
and communicative than their exterior would lead us to suppose. 
They are not a peculiar race, as is often supposed, but genuine Rus¬ 
sians—the descendants of men who in old times fled from, the central 
provinces to the Steppe, where they could lead the life of “bold 
borderers.” From their habit of capturing Tartar women they became 
to some extent a mixed race; but this admixture of Tartar blood was 
never very great, and did not much affect their character. Many of 
them, especially on the lower Don, are of dark complexion, and do 
not much resemble the fair-liaired peasant of the north; but their 
features are thoroughly European, and they are thoroughly Russian 
both in language and sentiment. If you happen to hold any peculiar 
theory about the Cossacks being Tartars you had better not mention 
it in their presence, for they would consider the idea an insult, and 
they are not yet sufficiently imbued with the scientific spirit to discuss 
such questions with coolness and impartiality. They now compose 
a kind of irregular cavalry, and are of great use in such expeditions 
as the Russians have to make occasionally in Central Asia. Two 
good qualities, at least, they undoubtedly possess: they are indi¬ 
vidually brave, and they have the talent of being able to live and 
thrive where regular troops would starve. No doubt, in the present 
war they will thoroughly enjoy a brush with their old enemies, the 
Circassians, and there will probably be a good deal of “ paying off old 
scores.” mm . 

On arriving at Rostoff—not, of course, the Rostoff already alluded 
to—near the mouth of the river, we find a railway that will convey us 
to the foot of the Caucasus. So recently as three years ago this journey 
had to be made with post-horses, and those who have made it in that 
primitive fashion will certainly congratulate themselves that it can 


TRADE AND INDUSTRIES. 


185 


now be done in a more rapid way. To see a country and to know 
something about it, posting is a much better means of travelling than 
railways, and under ordinary circumstances the intelligent traveller 
will willingly bear the additional discomforts and annoyances for the 
sake of the additional advantages. But in a region like that which 
stretches from the mouth of the Don to the Caucasus these advantages 
form a poor compensation for the tedium and discomforts of the 
journey. The country is solemnizingly flat and very thinly popu¬ 
lated, and between the post stations there is nothing to be seen but 
bare steppe. The only point of interest on the route is Piatigorsk, 
where five high isolated hills rise abruptly from the plain, and some 
rich mineral springs have created a town of considerable size and 
importance. From Piatigorsk onwards the route is more interesting, 
for in clear weather the main range of the Caucasus is clearly visible. 
Slowly but surely it approaches, increasing every hour in grandeur, 
till w T e find ourselves in Vladikavkaz on the Terek—a small town 
commanding the entrance to the famous Dariel Pass, through which 
we must drive hurriedly, admiring, of course, the grand scenery as we 
go, but refraining from all excursions in those tempting side valleys. 
First along the banks of the Terek; then through the narrow gorge 
and up to the bleak stations of Kazbek and Kobi; next over the high 
ridge, and then rapidly down by a tributary of the Kur to the smiling 
plains of Georgia. As w r e approach Tiflis we see before us one of the 
most picturesque towns in the world—half European, half Asiatic. 

The railway from Tiflis to Poti is a new line, finished at great 
expense a few years ago. After passing over the Suram ridge the 
train descends by gradients, which make the unaccustomed traveller 
feel uncomfortably nervous, into the fertile valley of the Bion, and in 
the evening arrives at Poti, a small town at the mouth of the river. 

It is a small place, built on a marsh, and so unwholesome that no 
inhabitant, it is said, escapes fever. The entrance to the port—if port 
it can be called—is so shallow that only flat-bottomed steamers can 
pass over the bar—a fact that explains why the Russians covet Batoum, 
a fine Turkish port a little further down the coast. In the course of a 
few hours we begin to feel the depressing effect of the heavy, feverish 
atmosphere, and are glad to get on board the steamer and take our 
departure. 

A coasting voyage of two or three days brings us to classic ground 


186 


TRADE AND INDUSTRIES. 


with which we are all familiar—Kertch, Theodosia, Balaklava, Sebas¬ 
topol. Did time permit we should land at Kertch, and proceed by 
road, so as to enjoy fully the wonderful scenery along the coast; but 
our time is short, and we prefer devoting the little that remains at our 
disposal to visiting Sebastopol and its neighborhood. The town is 
still to a great extent in ruins. It is only since the abolition of the 
clause of the treaty of Paris relating to the Black Sea, that it has 
begun to show signs of revival. The subsequent completion of the 
railway uniting it with the rest of the Empire has laid for it the 
foundations of a new prosperity, but a death-like stillness continues to 
hang over the place. On the heights surrounding the city everything 
remains pretty much as it was when the Allies left it. With a melan¬ 
choly interest we visit the places whose names are still so familiar to us, 
and here and there in some lonely spot we unexpectedly come upon a 
graveyard with English as well as Russian names on the tombstones. 



Russians Preparing Supplies for the Hospitals. 















































































































































RUSSIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITIES . 


187 


CHAPTER X. 

Russian Tillage communities. 

Having gained some notion of the habits and occupations of the 
peasantry, our attention will naturally turn to the constitution of the 
village. This is a subject of special interest, as the Mir, or village 
system, is the most peculiar of Russian institutions. 

The peasant family of the old type is a kind of primitive association, 
in which the members have nearly all things in common. The village 
may be roughly described as a primitive association on a larger scale. 

Between these two social units there are many points of analogy. 
In both there are common interests and common responsibilities. In 
both there is a principal personage, who is in a certain sense ruler 
within, and representative as regards the outside world; in the one 
case called Khozain, or Head of the Household, and in the other 
Starosta, or Village Elder. In both the authority of the ruler is 
limited; in the one case by the adult members of the family, and in 
the other by the heads of households. In both there is a certain 
amount of common property; in the one case the house and nearly all 
that it contains, and in the other the arable land and pasturage. In 
both cases there is a certain amount of common responsibility; in the 
one case for all the debts, and in the other for all the taxes and Com¬ 
munal obligations. And both are protected to a certain extent against 
the ordinary legal consequences of insolvency, for the family cannot 
be deprived of its house or necessary agricultural implements, and the 
Commune cannot be deprived of its land, by importunate creditors. 

On the other hand, there are many important points of contrast. 
The Commune is, of course, much larger than the family, and the 
mutual relations of its members are by no means so closely interwoven. 
The members of a family all farm together, and those of them who 
earn money from other sources are expected to put their savings into 
the common purse; whilst the households composing a Commune farm 
independently, and pay into the common treasury only a certain 
fixed sum. 

From these brief remarks the reader will at once perceive that a 


188 


RUSSIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITIES. 


Russian village is something very different from a village in our sense 
of the term, and that the villagers are bound together by ties quite 
unknown to the American rural population. A family living in an 
American village has little.reason to take an interest in the affairs of 
its neighbors. The isolation of the individual families may not be 
quite perfect; for man, being a social animal, takes, and ought to 
take, a certain interest in the affairs of those around him, and this 
social duty is sometimes fulfilled by the weaker sex with more zeal 
than is absolutely indispensable for the public welfare; but families 
may live for many years in the same village without ever becoming 
conscious of common interests. So long as the Jones family do not 
commit any culpable breach of public order, such as putting obstruc¬ 
tions on the highway or habitually setting their house on fire, their 
neighbor Brown takes probably no interest in their affairs, and has no 
ground for interfering with their perfect liberty of action. Jones may 
be a drunkard and hopelessly insolvent, and he may some night 
decamp clandestinely with his -whole family and never more be heard 
of; but all these things do not affect the interests of Brown, unless he 
has been imprudent enough to entertain with the delinquent more 
than simple neighborly relations. Now, amongst the families compos¬ 
ing a Russian village, such a state of isolation is impossible. The Heads 
of Households must often meet together and consult in the Village 
Assembly, and their daily occupations must be influenced by the 
Communal decrees. They cannot begin to mow the hay or plow the 
fallow field until the Village Assembly has passed a resolution on the 
subject. If a peasant becomes a drunkard, or takes some equally 
efficient means to become insolvent, every family in the village has a 
right to complain, not merely in the interests of public morality, but 
from selfish motives, because all the families are collectively re¬ 
sponsible for his taxes. For the same reason no peasant can per¬ 
manently leave the village without the consent of the Commune, and 
this consent will not be granted until the applicant gives satisfactory 
security for the fulfillment of all his actual and future liabilities. If 
a peasant wishes to go away for a short time, in order to work else¬ 
where, he must obtain a written permission, which serves him as a 
passport during his absence; and he may be recalled at any moment 
by a Communal decree. In reality he is rarely recalled so long as he 
sends home regularly the full amount of his taxes—including the dues 


Russian Ladies Preparing for a Banquet. 


RUSSIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITIES . 


189 


I 





.ZZZlZ’V.lVjT 




—. . 1 








'/ / V 


W/i/i 

W/MMi 

mm 




W/M/MMWA 


mimm 




-nm®, 


'""/.a 









fe 



W&M'IF- 

W/w/Mm. 

WUm, 

vm/mvM/// 



Mwm/W' 

WMwM/I 

Warn, 


WMmw/> 



* v> ^ 

W/////M/, 
















































































































































































190 


RUSSIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITIES . 


which he has to pay for the temporary passport—but sometimes the 
Commune uses the power of recall for the purpose of extorting money 
from the absent member. If it becomes known, for instance, that an 
absent member receives a good salary in one of the towns, he may one 
day receive a formal order to return at once to his native village, and 
be informed at the same time, unofficially, that his presence will bo 
dispensed with if he will send to the Commune a certain amount of 
money. The money thus sent is generally used by the Commune for 
convivial purposes. 

In order to understand the Russian village system, the reader must 
bear in mind these two important facts: the arable land and the 
pasturage belong not to the individual houses, but to the Commune, 
and all the households are collectively and individually responsible for 
the entire sum which the Commune has to pay annually into the 
Imperial Treasury. 

In all countries the theory of government and administration differs 
considerably from the actual practice. Nowhere is this difference 
greater than in Russia, and in no Russian institution is it greater than 
in the Village Commune. It is necessary, therefore, to know both 
theory and practice; and it is well to begin w T ith the former, because 
it is the simpler of the two. When we have once thoroughly mastered 
the theory, it is easy to understand the deviations that are made to 
suit peculiar local conditions. 

According, then, to theory, all male peasants in every part of the 
Empire are inscribed in census lists, which form the basis of the direct 
taxation. These lists are revised at irregular intervals, and all males 
alive at the time of the “ revision/’ from the new-born babe to the 
centenarian, are duly inscribed. Each Commune has a list of this 
kind, and pays to the Government an annual sum proportionate to the 
number of names which the list contains, or, in popular language, 
according to the number of “ revision souls.” During the intervals 
between the revisions the financial authorities take no notice of the 
births and deaths. A Commune which has a hundred male members 
at the time of the revision may have in a few years considerably more 
or considerably less than that number, but it has to pay taxes for a 
hundred members all the same until a new revision is made for the 
whole Empire. 

Now in Russia, so far at least as the rural population is concerned, 


RUSSIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITIES. 


191 


the payment of taxes is inseparably connected with the possession of 
laud. Every peasant who pays taxes is supposed to have a share of 
the arable land and pasturage belonging to the Commune. If the 
Communal revision lists contain a hundred names, the Communal 
land ought to be divided into a hundred shares, and each “ revision 
soul” should enjoy his share in return for the taxes which he pays. 

The reader who has followed these explanations up to this point 
may naturally conclude that the taxes paid by the peasants are in re¬ 
ality a species of rent for the land which they enjoy. So it seems, and 
so it is sometimes represented, but so in reality it is not. When a man 
rents a bit of land he acts according to his own judgment, and makes 
a voluntary contract with the proprietor; but the Russian peasant is 
obliged to pay his taxes whether he desires to enjoy land or not. The 
theory, therefore, that the taxes are simply the rent of the land, will 
not bear even superficial examination. Equally untenable is the 
theory that they are a species of land-tax. In any reasonable system 
of land-dues the yearly sum imposed bears some kind of proportion to 
the quantity and quality of the land enjoyed; but in Russia it may be 
that the members of one Commune possess six acres, and the members 
of the neighboring Commune seven acres, and yet the taxes in both 
cases are the same. The truth is that the taxes are personal, and are 
calculated according to the number of male “souls,” and the Govern¬ 
ment does not take the trouble to inquire how the Communal land is 
distributed. The Commune has to pay into the Imperial Treasury a 
fixed yearly sum, according to the number of its “eevision souls,” and 
distributes the land among its members as it thinks fit. 

How, then, does the Commune distribute the land? To this ques¬ 
tion it is impossible to give a definite general reply, because each 
Commune acts as it pleases. Some act strictly according to the theory. 
These divide their land at the time of the revision into a number of 
portions or shares corresponding to the number of revision souls, and 
give to each family a number of shares corresponding to the number of 
revision souls which it contains. This is from the administrative point 
of view by far the simplest system. The census list determines how 
much land each family will enjoy, and the existing tenures are dis¬ 
turbed only by the revisions wdiich take place at irregular intervals. 
Since 1719 only ten revisions have been made, so that the average 
length of these intervals has been about fifteen years—a term which 


192 


RUSSIAN VILLAGE GO MM UNITIES. 


may be regarded as a tolerably long lease. But, on the other hand, 
this system has serious defects. The revision list represents merely 
the numerical strength of the families, and the numerical strength is 
often not at all in proportion to the working power. Let us suppose, 
for example, two families, each containing at the time of the revision 
five male members. According to the census list these two families 
are equal, and ought to receive equal shares of the land; but in reality 
it may happen that the one contains a father in the prime of life and 
four able-bodied sons, whilst the other contains a widow and five little 
boys. The wants and working power of these two families are of 
course very different; and if the above system of distribution be 
applied, the man with four sons and a goodly supply of grandchildren 
wall probably find that he has too little land, whilst the widow with 
her five little boys will find it difficult to cultivate the five shares 
allotted to her, and utterly impossible to pay the corresponding amount 
of taxation—for in all cases, it must be remembered, the Communal 
burdens are distributed in the same proportion as the land. 

But why, it may be said, should the widow not accept provisionally 
the five shares, and let to others the part which she does not require ? 
The balance of rent after payment of the taxes might help her to 
bring up her young family. 

So it seems to one acquainted only with the rural economy of 
countries where land is scarce, and always gives a revenue more than 
sufficient to defray the taxes. But in Russia the possession of a share 
of Communal land is often not a privilege, but a burden. In some 
Communes the land is so poor and abundant that it cannot be let at 
any price. Witness, for instance, many villages in the province of 
Smolensk, where the traveller may see numerous uncultivated strips in 
the Communal fields. In others the soil will repay cultivation, but a 
fair rent will not suffice to pay the taxes and dues. 

To obviate these inconvenient results of the simpler system, some 
Communes have adopted the expedient of allotting the land, not 
according to the number of revision souls, but according to the work¬ 
ing power of the families. Thus, in the instance above supposed, the 
widow would receive perhaps two shares, and the large household, con¬ 
taining five workers, would receive perhaps seven or eight. Since the 
breaking-up of the large families, such inequality is, of course, rare; 
but inequality of a less extreme kind does still occur, and justifies a 
departure from the system of allotment according to the revision lists. 


RUSSIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITIES . 103 



A Reunion of Russian Soldiers. 


Even if the allotment be fair and equitable at the time of the 
revision, it may soon become unfair and burdensome by the natural 
fluctuations of the population. Births and deaths may in the course 
of a very few years entirely alter the relative working power of the 
various families. The sons of the widow may grow up to manhood, 
whilst two or three able-bodied members of the other family may be 
cut off by an epidemic. Thus, long before a new revision takes plac£, 
the distribution of the land may be no longer in accordance with the 
wants and capacities of the various families composing the Commune. 
To correct this, various expedients are employed. Some Communes 
transfer particular lots from one family to another, as circumstances 
demand; whilst others make from time to time, during the intervals 
between the revisions, a complete re-distribution and re-allotment of 
the land. 

The system of allotment adopted depends entirely on the will of the 
particular Commune. In this respect the Communes enjoy the most 
complete autonomy, and no peasant ever dreams of appealing against 
a Communal decree. The higher authorities not only abstain from all 















194 


RUSSIAX VILLAGE COMMUNITIES . 


interference in the allotment of the Communal lands, but remain in 
profound ignorance as to which system the Communes habitually 
adopt. Though the Imperial Administration has a most voracious 
appetite for symmetrically-constructed statistical tables, no attempt has 
yet been made to collect statistical data which might throw light on 
this important subject. In spite of the systematic and persistent efforts 
of the centralized bureaucracy to regulate minutely all departments 
of the national life, the rural Communes, which contain about five- 
sixths of the population, remain in many respects entirely beyond its 
influence, and even beyond its sphere of vision! But let not the 
reader be astonished overmuch. He will learn in time that Russia is 
the land af paradoxes; that in the great stronghold of Caesarian despot¬ 
ism and centralized bureaucracy, these Village Communes, containing 
about five-sixths of the population, are capital specimens of represen¬ 
tative Constitutional governments of the extreme democratic type! 

Their constitution is not a formal document, in which the functions 
of the various institutions, the powers of the various authorities, and 
all the possible methods of procedure are carefully defined; but a 
body of unwritten, traditional conceptions, which have grown up and 
modified themselves under the influence of ever-changing practical 
neccessity. If the functions and mutual relations of the Village 
Elder and the Assembly have ever been defined, neither the Elders 
nor the members of the Assembly know anything of such definitions; 
and yet every peasant knows, as if by instinct, what eack of these 
authorities can and cannot do. The Commune is, in fact, a living 
institution, whose spontaneous vitality enables it to dispense with the 
assistance and guidance of the written law. 

As to its thoroughly democratic character there can be no possible 
doubt. The Elder represents merely the executive power. All the real 
authority resides in the Assembly, of which all Heads of Households 
are members. 

The simple procedure, or rather the absence of all formal proce¬ 
dure, at the Assemblies illustrates admirably the essentially practical 
character of the institution. The meetings are held in the open air, j 
because in the village there is no building—except the church, which 
can be used only for religious purposes—large enough to contain all 
the members; and they almost always take place on Sundays or 
hoildays, when the peasants have plenty of leisure. Any open space, 






RUSSIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITIES. 


195 


where there is sufficient room and little mud, serves as a Forum. The 
discussions are occasionally very animated, but there is rarely anv 
attempt at speech-making. If any young member should show an 
inclination to indulge in oratory, he is sure to be unceremoniously 
interrupted by some of the older members, who have never any 
sympathy with fine talking. The whole assemblage has the appearance 
of a crowd of people who have accidentally come together, and are 
discussing in little groups subjects of local interest. Gradually one 
group, containing two or three peasants who have more moral influence 
than their fellows, attracts the others, and the discussion becomes 
general. Two or more peasants may speak at a time, and interrupt 
each other freely—using plain, unvarnished language, not at all 
parliamentary—and the discussion may become for a few moments a 
confused, unintelligible noise; but at the moment when the spectator 
imagines that the consultation is about to be transformed into a pro¬ 
miscuous fight, the tumult spontaneously subsides, or perhaps a general 
roar of laughter announces that some one has been successfully hit by 
a strong argumentum ad hominem, or biting personal remark. In any 
case there is no danger of the disputants coming to blows. No class 
of men in the world is more good-natured and pacific than the Russian 
peasantry. When sober they never fight, and even when under the 
influence of alcohol they are more likely to be violently affectionate 
than disagreeably quarrelsome. If two of them take to drinking 
together, the probability is that in a few minutes, though they may 
never have seen each other before, they will be expressing in very 
strong terms their mutual regard and affection, confirming their words 
with an occasional friendly embrace. 

Theoretically speaking, the Village Parliament has a Speaker, in 
the person of a Village Elder. The word Speaker is etymologically 
less objectionable than the term President, for the personage in question 
never sits down, but mingles in the crowd like the ordinary members. 
The Elder is officially the principal personage in the crowd, and wears 
the insignia of office in the form of a small medal suspended from his 
neck by a thin brass chain. His duties, however, are extremely light. 
To call to order those who interrupt the discussion is no part of his 
function. If he calls an honorable member Durdk (blockhead), or 
interrupts an orator with a laconic << Moltchi! ,, (hold your tongue!), 
he does so in virtue of no special prerogative, but simply in accordance 


196 


RUSSIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITIES • 


with a time-honored privilege, which is equally enjoyed by all present, 
and may be employed with impunity against himself. Indeed, it may 
be said in general that the phraseology and the procedure are not 
subjected to any strict rules. The Elder comes prominently forward 
only when it is necessary to take the sense of the meeting. On such 
occasions he may stand back a little from the crowd and say, “Well, 
orthodox, have you decided so?” and the crowd will probably shout, 
“Ladno! laduo!” that is to say, “ Agreed! agreed!” 

Communal measures are generally carried in this way by acclama¬ 
tion; but it sometimes happens that there is such a decided diversity 
of opinion that it is difficult to tell which of the two parties has a 
majority. In this case the Elder requests the one party to stand to 
the right and the other to the left. The two groups are then counted, 
and the minority submits, for no one ever dreams of opposing openly 
the will of the Commune. 

In the crowd may generally be seen, especially in the northern pro¬ 
vinces, where a considerable portion of the male population is always 
absent from the village, a certain number of female peasants. These 
are women who, on account of the absence or death of their husbands, 
happen to be for the moment Heads of Households. As such they are 
entitled to be present, and their right to take part in the deliberations 
is never called in question. In matters affecting the general welfare 
of the Commune they rarely speak, and if they do venture to express 
an opinion on such occasions they have little chance of commanding 
attention, for the Russian peasantry are as yet little imbued with the 
modern doctrines of female equality, and express their opinion of 
female intelligence by the homely adage: “The hair is long, but the 
mind is short.” According to one proverb, seven women have collec¬ 
tively but one soul, and according to a still more ungallant popular 
saying, women have no souls at all, but only a vapor. Woman, 
therefore, as woman, is not deserving of much consideration, but a 
particular woman, as head of a household is entitled to speak on all 
questions directly affecting the household under her care. If, for 
instance, it be proposed to increase or diminish her household’s share 
of the land and the burdens, she will be allowed to speak freely on the 
subject, and even to indulge in a little personal invective against her 
male opponents. She thereby exposes herself, it, is true, to uncompli¬ 
mentary remarks; but any which she happens to receive she will 


RUSSIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITIES. 


197 



Russian Peasants at Home. 


probably repay with interest—referring, perhaps, with pertinent viru¬ 
lence to the domestic affairs of those who attack her. And when 
argument and invective fail, she is pretty sure to try the effect of 
pathetic appeal, supported by copious tears—a method of persuasion 
to which the Russian peasant is singularly insensible. 

The Assembly discusses all matters affecting the Communal welfare, 
and, as these matters have never been legally defined, and there is no 
means of appealing against its decisions, its recognized competence is 
very wide. It fixes the time for making the hay, and the day for 
commencing the plowing of the fallow field; it decrees what measures 
] shall be employed against those who do not punctually pay their 
taxes; it decides whether a new member shall be admitted into the 
Commune, and whether an old member shall be allowed to change 
his domicile; it gives or withholds permission to erect new buildings 
on the Communal land ; it prepares and signs all contracts which the 
Commune makes with one of its own members or with a stranger; it 
interferes, whenever it thinks necessary, in the domestic affairs of its 























































198 


R USSIA N VILLAGE COMMUNITIES . 


members; it elects the Elder—as well as the Communal tax collector, 
and watchman, where such offices exist—and the Communal herd-boy; 
above all, it divides and allots the Communal land among the members 
as it thinks fit. 

Of all these various proceedings, the reader may naturally assume 
that the elections are the most noisy and exciting. In reality this is 
a mistake. The elections produce little excitement, for the simple 
reason that, as a rule, no one desires to be elected. Once, it is said, a 
peasant who had been guilty of some misdemeanor was informed by 
an Arbiter of the Peace, that he would be no longer capable of filling 
any Communal office; and instead of regretting this diminution of his 
civil rights, he bowed very low, and respectfully expressed his thanks 
for the new privilege which he had acquired. This anecdote may not 
be true, but it illustrates the undoubted fact that the Russian peasant 
regards office as a burden rather than as an honor. There is no civic 
ambition in those little rural Commonwealths, whilst the privilege of 
wearing a bronze medal, which commands no respect, and the recep¬ 
tion of a few roubles as salary, afford no adequate compensation for 
the trouble, annoyance, and responsibility which a Village Elder has 
to bear. The elections are therefore generally very tame and unin¬ 
teresting. 

Far more important than the elections, is the redistribution of the 
Communal land. It can matter but little to the Head of a House¬ 
hold how the elections go, provided he himself is not chosen. But he 
cannot remain a passive, indifferent spectator, when the division and 
allotment of the land come to be discussed, for the material welfare of 
every household depends to a great extent on the amount of land and 
of burdens which it receives. 

In the southern provinces, where the soil is fertile and the taxes do 
not exceed the normal rent, the process of division and allotment is 
comparatively simple. Here each peasant desires to get as much land 
as possible, and consequently each household demands all the land to 
which it is entitled—that is to say, a number of shares equal to the 
number of its members inscribed in the last revision list. The As¬ 
sembly has, therefore, no difficult questions to decide. The Communal 
revision list determines the number of shares into which the land must 
be divided, and the number of shares to be allotted to each family. 
The only difficulty likely to arise is as to which particular shares a 


RUSSIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITIES. 


199 


particular family shall receive, and this difficulty is commonly obviated 
by the custom of casting lots. There may be, it is true, some differ¬ 
ence of opinion as to when a redistribution should be made, but this 
question is easily decided by a simple vote of the Assembly. 

Very different is the process of division and allotment in many 
Communes of the northern provinces. Here the soil is often very 
barren, and the taxes exceed the normal rent, and consequently it 
may happen that the peasants strive to have as little land as possible. 
After the number of shares for each family has been decided, the 
distribution of the lots gives rise to new difficulties. The families 
who have manured plentifully their land strive to get back their old 
lots, and the Commune respects their claims so far as these are con¬ 
sistent with the new arrangement; but often it happens that it is 
impossible to conciliate private rights and Communal interests, and in 
such cases the former are sacrificed in a way that would not be 
tolerated by men of Anglo-Saxon race. This leads, however, to no 
serious consequences. The peasants are accustomed to work together 
in this way, to make concessions for the Communal welfare, and to 
bow unreservedly to the will of the Commune. There are many 
instances where the peasants have set at defiance the authority of the 
police, of the provincial governor, and of the central Government 
itself, but we have never heard of any instance where the will of the 
Commune was openly opposed by one of its members. 

In the preceding pages we have repeatedly spoken about “ shares of 
the Communal land.” To prevent misconception, we must explain 
carefully what this expression means. A share does not mean simply 
a plot or parcel of land; on the contrary, it always contains at least 
four, and may contain a large number of distinct plots. 

Communal land in Russia is of three kinds: the land on which the 
village is built, the arable, and the meadow or hay-field. On the first 
of these each family possesses a house and garden, which are the 
hereditary property of the family, and are never affected by the 
periodical redistributions. The other two kinds are both subject to 
redistribution, but on somewhat different principles. 

The whole of the Communal arable land is first of all divided into 
three fields, to suit the triennial rotation of crops already described, 
and each field is divided into a number of long narrow strips—corres¬ 
ponding to the number of male members in the Commune—as nearly 


200 


RUSSIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITIES. 


as possible equal to each other in area and quality. Sometimes it is 
necessary to divide the field into several portions, according to the 
quality of the soil, and then to subdivide each of these portions into 
the requisite number of strips. Thus in aft peases every household 
possesses at least one strip in each field; and*in those cases where 
subdivision is necessary, every household possesses a strip in each of 
the portions into which the field is subdivided. This complicated 
process of division and subdivision is accomplished by the peasants 
themselves, with the aid of simple measuring-rods, and the accuracy 
of the result is truly marvelous. 

The meadow, which is reserved for the production of hay, is divided 
into the same number of shares as the arable land. There, however, 
the division and distribution take place not at irregular intervals, but 
annually. Every year, on a day fixed by the Assembly, the villagers 
proceed in a body to this part of their property, and divide it into the 
requisite number of portions. Lots are then cast, and each family at 
once mows the portion allotted to it. In some Communes the meadow 
is mown by all the peasants in common, and the hay afterwards dis¬ 
tributed by lot among the families; but this system is by no means so 
frequently used. 

As the whole of the Communal land thus resembles to some extent 
a big farm, it is necessary to make certain rules concerning cultivation, 
A family may sow what it likes in the land allotted to it, but all 
families must at least conform to the accepted system of rotation. In 
like manner, a family cannot begin the autumn plowing before the 
appointed time, because it would thereby interfere with the rights of 
the other families, who use the fallow field as pasturage. 

It is not a little strange that this primitive system of land tenure 
should have succeeded in living into the nineteenth century, and still 
more remarkable that the institution of which it forms an essential 
part should be regarded by many intelligent people as one of the great 
institutions of the future, and almost as a panacea for social and 
political evils. The explanation of these facts forms an interesting 
chapter of Russian social history. 





A Stree'i Scene in Moscow 




























































































202 


THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES . 


CHAPTER XI. 


THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES. 


Those who wish to enjoy the illusions produced by scene-painting 
and stage decorations should never go behind the scenes. In like 
manner he who wishes to preserve the delusion that Russian towns 
are picturesque should never enter them, but content himself with 
viewing them from a distance. A walk through the streets inevitably 
dispels the illusion, and proves satisfactorily that irregularity, even 
when combined with squalor, is not necessarily picturesque. 

However imposing Russian towns may look when seen from the 
outside, they will generally be found on closer inspection to be little 
more than villages in disguise. If they have not a positively rustic, 
they have at least a suburban appearance. The streets are straight 
and wide, and are either miserably paved or not paved at all. The 
houses are built of wood or stone, generally one-storied, and separated 
from each other by spacious yards. Many of them do not condescend 
to turn their fayades to the street. The general impression produced 
is that the majority of the burghers have come from the country, and 
have brought their country houses with them. There are few or no 
shops with merchandise tastefully arranged in the window to tempt 
the passer-by. If you wish to make purchases you must go to the 
Gostinny Dvor, or Bazaar, which consists of long symmetrical rows of 
low-roofed, dimly-lighted stores, with a colonnade in front. This is 
the place where merchants most do congregate, but it presents nothing 
of that bustle and activity which we are accustomed to associate with 
commercial life. The shopkeepers stand at their doors or loiter about 
in the immediate vicinity waiting for customers. From the scarcity 
of these latter it is likely that when sales are effected the profits must 
be enormous. In the other parts of the town the air of solitude and 
languor is still more conspicuous. In the great square, or by the side 
of the promenade—if the town is fortunate enough to have one—cows 
or horses may be seen grazing tranquilly, without being at all con¬ 
scious of the incongruity of their position. And, indeed, it would be 
strange if they had any such consciousness, for it does not exist in the 


THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES, 


203 


minds either of the police or of the inhabitants. At night the streets 
are not lighted at all, or are supplied merely with a few oil lamps, 
which do little more than render the darkness visible, so that cautious 
citizens returning home late often arm themselves with lanterns. A 
few years ago an honorable town-councilor of Moscow opposed a 
project for lighting the city with gas, and maintained that those who 
chose to go out at night should carry their lamps with them. The 
objection was overruled, and Moscow was supplied with gas lamps, 
but very few of the provincial towns have as yet followed the example 
of the ancient capital. 

This description does not apply to St. Petersburg and Odessa, but 
these cities may for the present be left out of consideration, for they 
have a distinctly foreign character. The genuine Russian towns—and 
Moscow may still almost be included in the number—have a semi¬ 
rustic air, or at least the appearance of those retired suburbs of a 
large city which are still free from the jurisdiction of the municipal 
authorities. 

The scarcity of towns in Russia is not less remarkable than their 
rustic appearance. The word is used here in the popular and not in 
the official sense. In official language a town means a collection of 
houses, containing certain organs of administration, and hence the 
term is sometimes applied to petty villages. Let us avoid, then, the 
official list of the towns, and turn to the statistics of population. It 
may be presumed that no town is worthy of the name unless it contains 
at least 10,000 inhabitants. Now, if we apply this test, we shall find 
that in the whole of European Russia in the narrower sense of the 
term—excluding Finland, the Baltic provinces, Lithuania, Poland, 
and the Caucasus, which are politically but not socially parts of 
Russia—there are only 127 towns. Of these only twenty-five contain 
more than 25,000, and only eleven contain more than 50,000 inhabi¬ 
tants. 

These facts indicate plainly that in Russia, as compared with 
Western Europe, the urban element in the population is relatively 
small; and this conclusion is borne out by statistical data. In Russia 
the urban element composes only a tenth part of the entire population, 
whereas in Great Britain more than one-half of the inhabitants are 
dwellers in towns. A serious effort to discover the causes of this 
would bring out some striking peculiarities in the past history and 


204 


THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES. 


present condition of the Russian Empire, and we propose now to 
communicate a few results of such an investigation. 

The chief cause is that Russia is much less densely populated than 
Western Europe. Towards the East she has never had a natural 
froutier, but always a wide expanse of fertile, uncultivated land, offer¬ 
ing a tempting field for emigration; and the peasantry have ever 
shown themselves ready to take advantage of their geographical 
position. Instead of improving their primitive system of agriculture, 
which requires an enormous area and rapidly exhausts the soil, they 
have always found it easier and more profitable to emigrate and take 
possession of the virgin laud to the eastward. Thus the territory— 
sometimes with the aid of, and sometimes in spite of, the Government 
—has constantly expanded, and has already reached Behring’s Straits 
and the northern offshoots of the Himalayas. The little district 
around the sources of the Dnieper has grown into a great empire forty 
times as large as France, and in all this vast area there are only 
about eighty millions of inhabitants. Prolific as the Russian race is, 
its powers of reproduction could not keep pace with its power of 
territorial expansion, and consequently the country is still very thinly 
peopled, the population of European Russia being only about fourteen 
to the square verst. Even the most densely populated region—the 
northern part of the Black-earth zone—has only about forty to the 
square verst. A people that has such an abundance of land, and can 
support itself by agriculture, is not likely to devote itself to industry, 
and not likely to congregate in towns. 

The second cause which hindered the formation of towns was 
serfage. Serfage, and the administrative system of which it formed a 
part, hemmed the natural movements of the population. The nobles 
habitually lived on their estates, and taught a portion of their serfs to 
supply them with nearly everything they required; and the peasants 
who might desire to settle as artisans in the towns were not free to do 
so, because they were attached to the soil. Thus arose those curious 
village industries of which we have already spoken. 

The insignificance of the Russian towns is in part explained by 
these two causes. The abundance of land tended to prevent the 
development of industry, and the little industry which did exist was 
prevented by serfage from collecting in the towns. But this explana¬ 
tion is evidently incomplete. The same causes existed during the 





THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES. 


205 



Middle Ages in Central Europe, and yet, in spite of them, flourishing 
cities grew up and played an important part in the social and political 
history of Germany. In these cities collected traders and artisans, 
forming a distinct social class, distinguished from the nobles on the 
one hand, and the surrounding peasantry on the other, by peculiar 
occupations, peculiar aims, peculiar intellectual physiognomy, and 
peculiar moral code. Now why did these important towns and this 
burgher class not likewise come into existence in Russia, in spite of 
the two preventive causes above mentioned? 

To discuss this question fully it would be necessary to enter into 
certain debated points of mediaeval history. All we can do here is to 
indicate what seems to be the true explanation. 

In Central Europe, all through the Middle Ages, a perpetual 
struggle went on between the various political factors of which society 
was composed, and the important towns were in a certain sense the 
product of this struggle. However the towns may have originally 
come into existence, it is certain that they were preserved and fostered 
by the mutual rivalry of the Sovereign, the Peudal Nobility, and the 



























206 


THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES; 


Church ; and those who desired to live by trade or industry were 
obliged to settle in them in order to enjoy the protection and immuni¬ 
ties which they afforded. In Russia there was never any political 
struggle of this kind. As soon as the Grand Princes of Moscow, in 
the sixteenth century, threw off the yoke of the Tartars, and made 
themselves Czars of all Russia, their power was irresistible and un- 
contested. Complete masters of the situation, they organized their 
country as they thought fit. At first their policy was favorable to 
the development of the towns. Perceiving that the mercantile and 
industrial classes might be made a rich source of revenue, they 
separated them from the peasantry, gave them the exclusive right of 
trading, prevented the other classes from competing with them, and 
freed them from the authority of the landed proprietors. Had they 
carried out this policy in a cautious, rational way, they might have 
created a rich burgher class; but they acted with true Oriental short* 
sightedness, and defeated their own purpose. Forgetting the welfare 
of the governed in their desire to benefit themselves, they imposed 
inordinately heavy taxes, md treated the urban population as their 
serfs. The richer merchants were forced to-serve as custom-house 
oflicers—often at a great distance from their domiciles—and artisans 
were yearly summoned to Moscow to do work for the Czars without 
remuneration. Besides this, the system of taxation was radically 
defective, and the members of the local administration who received 
no pay and were practically free from control were merciless in their 
exactions. In a word, the Czars used their power so awkwardly and 
so recklessly that the industrial and trading population, instead of 
fleeing to the towns to secure protection, fled from them to escape 
oppression. At length this emigration from the towns assumed such 
dimensions that it was found necessary to prevent it by administrative 
and legislative measures; and the urban population were legally fixed 
in the towns as the rural population were fixed to the soil. Those 
who fled were brought back as runaways, and those who attempted 
flight a second time were ordered to be flogged and transported to 
Siberia. 

At the beginning of the last century began a new era in the history 
of the towns and of the urban population. Peter the Great observed, 
during his travels in Western Europe, that national wealth and pros¬ 
perity reposed chiefly on the enterprising, educated middle classes, and 


THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES. 


207 


he attributed the poverty of his own country to the absence of this 
burgher element. Might not such a class be created in Russia? 
Peter unhesitatingly assumed that it might, and set himself at once to 
create it in a simple, straightforward way. Foreign artisans were 
imported into his dominions, and foreign merchants were invited to 
trade with his subjects; young Russians were sent abroad to learn the 
useful arts; efforts were made to disseminate practical knowledge by 
the translation of foreign books and the foundation of schools; all 
kinds of trade were encouraged, and various industrial enterprises 
were organized. At the same time the administration of the towns 
was thoroughly reorganized after the model of the ancient free-towns 
of Germany. In place of the old organization, which was a slightly 
modified form of the rural Commune, they received German municipal 
institutions, with burgomasters, town-councils, courts of justice, guilds 
for the merchants, trade corporations (Tsekhi) for the artisans, and an 
endless list of instructions regarding the development of trade and 
industry, the building of hospitals, sanitary precautions, the founding 
of schools, the dispensation of justice, the organization of the police, 
and similar matters. 

Catherine II. followed in the same track. If she did less for 
developing trade and industry, she did more in the v 7 ay of legislating 
and writing grandiloquent manifestoes. In the course of her historical 
studies she had learned, as she proclaimed in one of her manifestoes, 
that “from remotest antiquity we everywhere find the memory of 
town-builders elevated to the same level as the memory of legislators, 
and we see that heroes, famous for their victories, hoped by town¬ 
building to give immortality to their names.” As the securing of 
immortality for her own name was her chief aim in life, she acted in 
accordance with historical precedent, and created two hundred and 
sixteen towns in the short space of twenty-three years. This seems a 
great work, but it did not satisfy her ambition. She was not only a 
student of history, but at the same time a warm admirer of the fash¬ 
ionable political philosophy of her time. That philosophy paid much 
attention to the tiers-etat, which was then acquiring in France great 
political importance, and Catherine thought that, as she had created a 
noblesse on the French model, she might also create a bourgeoisie. 
For this purpose she modified the municipal organization created by 
her great predecessor, and granted to all the towns an Imperial 


208 


THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES. 


Charter. This charter remained without essential modification down 
to the commencement of the present reign. 

These efforts to create a rich, intelligent tiers-etat have not been 
attended with much success. Their influence has always been more 
apparent in official documents than in real life. The great mass of 
the population remained serfs, fixed to the soil, whilst the nobles— 
that is to say, all who possessed a little education—were required for 
the military and civil services. Those who were sent abroad to learn 
the useful arts learned little, and made little use of the. knowledge 
which they acquired. On their return to their native country they very 
soon fell victims to the soporific influence of the surrounding social 
atmosphere. The “town-building” has as little practical result. It 
was an easy matter to create any number of towns in the official sense 
of the term. To transform a village into a town, it was necessary 
merely to prepare an izba, or log-house, for the district court, another 
for the police office, a third for the prison, and so on. On an appointed 
day a Government official arrived from the provincial capital, col¬ 
lected the officials destined to serve in the newly-constructed or 
newly-arranged log-houses, ordered a simple religious ceremony to be 
performed by the priest, caused a formal act to be written, and then 
declared the town to be “opened.” All this required very little 
creative effort, but it was not so easy to create a spirit of commercial 
and industrial enterprise among the population. That could not be 
effected by Imperial ukase. 

To animate the newly-imported municipal institutions, which had 
no root in the traditions and habits of the people, was a task of equal 
difficulty. In the Western nations these institutions had been slowly 
devised in the course of centuries to meet real, keenly-felt, practical 
wants. In Russia they were adopted for the purpose of creating those 
wants which were not yet felt. The office-bearers, elected against 
their will,, were hopelessly bewildered by the complicated procedure, 
and were incapable of understanding the numerous ukases, prescribing 
to them their multifarious duties, and threatening the most merciless 
punishments for sins of omission and commission. Soon, however, it 
was discovered that the threats were not nearly so dreadful as they 
seemed; and accordingly those municipal authorities, who were to 
protect and enlighten the burghers, “forgot the fear of God and the 
Czars,” and extorted so unblushingly, that it was found necessary to 
place them under the control of Government officials. 


THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES. 209 



Roumanian Priests at Ploestt, Blessing the Emperor of Russia with 
14 Bread and Wine. 









































































































































210 


THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES. 


The chief practical result of the efforts made by Peter and Catherine 
to create a bourgeoisie was that the inhabitants of the towns were 
more systematically arranged in categories for the purpose of taxation, 
and that the taxes were increased. All those parts of the new admin¬ 
istration which had no direct relation to the fiscal interests of the 
Government had no inherent life or spontaneous activity. The truth 
is that the whole system had been arbitrarily imposed on the people, 
and had no motive pow T er except the Imperial will. Had that motive 
power been withdrawn, and the burghers left to regulate their own 
municipal affairs, the system would immediately have collapsed. Rath- 
haus, burgomasters, guilds, aldermen, and all the other lifeless shadows 
which had been called into existence by Imperial ukase, would in¬ 
stantly have vanished into space. In this fact we have one of the 
characteristic traits of Russian historical development compared with 
that of Western Europe. In the west of Europe monarchy had to 
struggle with municipal institutions to prevent them from becoming 
too powerful; in Russia, it had to struggle with them to prevent them 
from committing suicide or dying of inanition. 

According to Catherine’s legislation, which remained in full force 
down to the present reign, and still exists in its main features, towns 
are of three kinds: (1) “Government towns” (gubernskie goroda)— 
that is to say, the chief towns of provinces, or “Governments” 
(gubernii)—in which are concentrated the various organs of provin¬ 
cial administration; (2) District towns (uyezdnie goroda),' in which 
resides the administration of the districts (uyezdi) into which the 
provinces are divided; and (3) Supernumerary towns (zashtatnie 
goroda), which have no particular significance in the territorial ad¬ 
ministration. 

In all these the municipal organization is the same. Leaving out 
of consideration those persons who happen to reside in the towns but 
in reality belong to the noblesse, the clergy, or the lower rank of 
officials, we may say that the town population is composed of three 
groups: the merchants, the burghers in the narrower sense of the 
term, and the artisans. Those categories are not hereditary castes, 
like the nobles, the clergy, and the peasantry. A noble may become 
a merchant, or a man may be one year a burgher, the next year an 
artisan, and the third year a merchant, if he changes his occupation 
and pays the necessary dues. But the categories form, for the time 


THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES. 211 

being, distinct corporations, each possessing a peculiar organization 
and peculiar privileges and obligations. 

Of these three groups the first in the scale of dignity is that of the 
merchants. It is chiefly recruited from the burghers and the peas¬ 
antry. Any one who wishes to engage in commerce inscribes himself 
in one of the three guilds, according to the amount of his capital and 
the nature of the operations in which he wishes to embark, and as 
soon as he has paid the required dues, he becomes officially a mer¬ 
chant. As soon as he ceases to pay these dues he ceases to be a 
merchant in the legal sense of the term, and returns to the class to 
which he formerly belonged. There are some families whose members 
have belonged to the merchant class for several generations, and the 
law speaks about a certain “ velvet-book” in which their names should 
be inscribed, but in reality they do not form a distinct category, and 
they descend at once from the privileged position as soon as they cease 
to pay the annual guild dues. 

The artisans form the connecting link between the town population 
and the peasantry, for peasants often enroll themselves in the trades 
corporations, or Tsekhi, without severing their connection with the 
rural Communes to which they belong. Each trade or handicraft 
constitutes a Tsekh, at the head of which stands an elder and two 
assistants, elected by the members; and all the Tsekhi together form a 
corporation under an elected head, assisted by a council composed of 
the elders of the various Tsekhi. It is the duty of this council and 
its president to regulate all matters connected with the Tsekhi, and to 
see that the multifarious regulations regarding masters, journeymen, 
and apprentices are duly observed. 

The nondescript class, composed of those who are inscribed as per¬ 
manent inhabitants of the towns but who do not belong to any guild 
or Tsekh, constitutes what is called the burghers in the narrower 
ssnse of the term. Like the other two categories, they form a separate 
corporation with an elder and an administrative bureau. 

Some idea of the relative numerical strength of these three cate¬ 
gories may be obtained from the following figures. In European 
Russia the merchant class (including wives and children) numbers 
about 466,000, the burghers about 4,033,000, and the artisans about 
260,000. 

The link of connection between these three categories is the Town 


212 


THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES. 


Council, the central and highest order of the municipal administra¬ 
tion, with its president the Mayor. A few years ago this body was 
thoroughly reorganized according to the most recent theories of 
municipal administration ; and now all house-proprietors, to whatever 
class they belong, may take part in its proceedings, and serve as its 
office-bearers. The consequence of this has been that many towns 
have now a noble as mayor, but it cannot be said that the spirit of the 
institution has radically changed. Very few seek election, and those 
who are elected display very little zeal in the discharge of their duties. 
Not long ago it was proposed, in the town council of St. Petersburg, 
to insure the presence of a quorum by imposing fines for non-atten¬ 
dance! This fact speaks volumes for the low vitality of these institu¬ 
tions. When such an incident occurs in the capital, we can readily 
imagine what takes place in the provincial towns. 

The development of trade and industry has, of course, enriched the 
mercantile classes, but it has not affected deeply their mode of life. Of 
all classes in the empire, they are the most conservative. When a Rus¬ 
sian merchant becomes rich, he builds for himself a fine house, or buys 
and thoroughly repairs the house of some ruined noble, and spends 
money freely on inlaid floors, gigantic mirrors, malachite tables, grand 
pianos by the best makers, and other articles of furniture made of the 
most costly materials. Occasionally—especially on the occasion of a 
marriage or a death in the family—he will give magnificent banquets, 
and expend enormous sums on gigantic sterlets, choice sturgeons, foreign 
fruits, champagne, and all manner of costly delicacies. But all this 
lavish, ostentatious expenditure does not affect the ordinary current of 
his daily life. As you enter those gaudily-furnished rooms you can 
perceive at a glance that they are not for ordinary use. You notice a 
rigid symmetry and an indescribable bareness which inevitably sug¬ 
gest that the original arrangements of the upholsterer have never been 
modified or supplemented. The truth is that by far the greater part 
of the house is used only on state occasions. The host and his family 
live down stairs in small, dirty rooms, furnished in a very different, 
and for them more comfortable, style. At ordinary times the fine 
rooms are closed, and the fine furniture carefully covered. If you 
make a visit after an entertainment at which you have been present, 
you will probably have some difficulty in gaining admission by the 
front door. When you have knocked or rung several times, some ona 


THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES. 


213 



Religious Devotion on Board of a Black Sea Steamer. 


will probably come around from the back regions and ask you what 
you want. Then follows another long pause, and at last footsteps are 
heard approaching from within. The bolts are drawn, the door is 
opened, and you are led up to a spacious drawing-room. At the wall 
opposite the windows there is sure to be a sofa, and before it an oval 
table. At each end of the table, and at right angles to the sofa, there 
will be a row of three arm-chairs. The other chairs will be symmet¬ 
rically arranged around the room. In a few minutes the host will 
appear, in his long double-breasted black coat and well-polished long 
boots. His hair is parted in the middle, and his beard shows no 
trace of scissors or razor. After the customary greetings have been 
exchanged, glasses of tea, with slices of lemon and preserves, or 
perhaps a bottle of champagne, are brought in by way of refreshment. 
The female members of the family you must not expect to see, unless 
you are an intimate friend; for the merchants still retain something 
of that female seclusion which was in vogue among the upper classes 
before the time of Peter the Great. The host himself will probably 
be an intelligent but totally uneducated and decidedly taciturn man. 

































214 


THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES. 


About the weather and the crops he may talk fluently enough, but he 
will not show much inclination to go beyond these topics. You may 
perhaps desire to converse with him on the subject with which he is 
best acquainted—the trade in which he is himself engaged; but if vou 
make the attempt you will certainly not gain much information. 

The Russian merchant’s love of ostentation is of a peculiar kind— 
something entirely different from American shoddyism. He may 
delight in gaudy reception-rooms, magnificent dinners, fast trotters, 
costly furs; or he may display his riches by princely donations to 
churches, monasteries, or benevolent institutions: but in all this he 
never affects to be other than he really is. He habitually wears a 
costume which designates plainly his social position, makes no attempt 
to adopt fine manners or elegant tastes, and never seeks to gain 
admission to what is called “ good society.” Having no desire to seem 
what he is not, he has a plain, unaffected manner, and sometimes a 
certain quiet dignity, which contrasts favorably with the affected 
manner of those nobles of the lower ranks who make pretensions to 
being highly educated, and strive to adopt the outward forms of 
French culture. At his great dinners, it is true, the merchant likes 
to see among his guests as many “generals”—that is to say, official 
personages—as possible; but he never dreams of thereby establishing 
an intimacy with these persons, or of being invited by them in return. 
It is perfectly understood by both parties that nothing of the kind is 
meant. The invitation is given and accepted from quite different 
motives. The merchant has the satisfaction of seeing at his table men 
of high official rank, and feels that the consideration which he enjoys 
among people of his own class is thereby augmented. If he succeeds 
in obtaining the presence of three generals, he obtains a victory over 
a rival who cannot obtain more than two. The general, on his side, 
gets a first-rate dinner, and acquires, in return for the honor he has 
conferred, a certain undefined right to request subscriptions for public 
objects or benevolent institutions. 

It is worthy of remark that the merchants recognize no aristocracy 
but that of official rank. Many merchants would willingly give a 
large sum for the presence of an “actual State-Councilor,” who, 
perhaps, never heard of his grandfather, but who can show a grand 
cordon , whilst they would not give a dime for the presence of an 
undecorated Prince who has no official rank, though he can trace his 


THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES . 


215 


pedigree up to the half-mythical Rurik. Of the latter they would 
probably say, “ Kto ikh znaet ?”—who knows what sort of a fellow he 
is ? The former, on the contrary, whoever his father and grandfather 
may have been, possesses unmistakable marks of the Czar’s favor, 
which, in the merchant’s opinion, is infinitely more important than 
any rights or pretensions founded on hereditary titles or long pedigree. 

These marks of Imperial favor the merchants strive to obtain for 
themselves. They do not dream of grands cordons —that is far beyond 
their most sanguine expectations—but they do all in their power to 
obtain those lesser decorations which are granted to the mercantile 
class. For this purpose the most common expedient is a liberal 
subscription to some benevolent institution, and sometimes a regular 
bargain is made. We have heard of at least one instance where the 
kind of decoration was expressly stipulated. A merchant subscribed 
to a society, which enjoyed the patronage of a Grand Duchess, a 
considerable sum of money, under the express condition that he should 
receive in return a St. Vladimir Cross. Instead of the desired decora¬ 
tion, which was considered too much for the sum subscribed, a cross of 
St Stanislas was granted; but the donor was dissatisfied with the latter, 
and demanded that his money should be returned to him. The 
demand had to be complied with, and, as an Imperial gift cannot be 
retracted, the merchant had his Stanislas Cross for nothing. 

This traffic in decorations has had its natural result. Like paper 
money issued in too large quantities, the decorations have fallen in 
value. The gold medals which were formerly much coveted and worn 
with pride—suspended by a ribbon round the neck—are now little 
desired. In like manner the inordinate respect for official personages 
has considerably diminished. Twenty years ago the provincial mer¬ 
chants vied with each other in their desire to entertain any great 
dignitary who honored their town with a visit, but now they seek 
rather to avoid this expensive and barren honor. When, however, 
they do accept the honor, they fulfill the duties of hospitality in a 
most liberal spirit. 

The two great blemishes on the character of the Russian merchants 
as a class are, according to general opinion, their ignorance and their 
dishonesty. As to the former of these there cannot possibly be any 
difference of opinion. The great majority of the merchants do not 
possess even the rudiments of education. Many of them can neither 


216 


THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES. 


read nor write, and are forced to keep their accounts in their memory, 
or by means of ingenious hieroglyphics, intelligible only to the inventor. 
Others can decipher the calendar and the lives of the saints, can sign 
their names with tolerable facility, and can make the simpler arith¬ 
metical calculations with the help of a little calculating instrument 
called “stchety,” which resembles the “abaca” of the old Romans, 
and is universally used in Russia. It is only the minority who under¬ 
stand the mysteries of regular book-keeping, and of these very few can 
make any pretensions to being educated men. Already, however, 
symptoms of a change for the better in this respect are noticeable. 
Some of the rich merchants are now giving to their children the best 
education which can be procured, and already a few young merchants 
may be found who can speak one or two foreign languages and may 
fairly be called educated men. Unfortunately, many of these forsake 
the occupations of their forefathers and seek distinction elsewhere. In 
this way the mercantile class constantly loses a considerable portion 
of that valuable leaven which may ultimately leaven the whole lump. 

As to the dishonesty which is said to be so common among the 
Russian commercial classes, it is difficult to form an accurate judg¬ 
ment. That an enormous amount of unfair dealing does exist, there 
can be no possible doubt, but it must be admitted that in this matter a 
foreigner is likely to be unduly severe. We are apt to apply unflinch¬ 
ingly our own standard of commercial morality, and to forget that 
trade in Russia is only emerging from that primitive condition in 
which fixed prices and moderate profits are entirely unknown. And 
when we happen to detect positive dishonesty, it seems to us especially 
heinous, because the trickery employed is more primitive and awkward 
than that to which we are accustomed. Trickery in weighing and 
measuring, for instance, which is by no means uncommon in Russia, is 
likely to make us more indignant than those ingenious methods of 
adulteration which- are practiced nearer home, and are regarded by 
many as almost legitimate. Beside this, foreigners who go to Russia 
and embark in speculations without possessing any adequate knowledge 
of the character, customs, and language of the people, positively invite 
spoliation, and ought to blame themselves rather than the people who 
profit by their ignorance and inexperience. All this, and much more 
of the same kind, may be fairly urged in mitigation of the severe 
judgments which foreign merchants commonly pass on Russian com- 





THE TOWNS AND 


MERCANTILE CLASSES. 


217 



Bulgarians Transporting Money under Escort. 

j mercial morality, but these judgments cannot be reversed by such 
arguments. The dishonesty and rascality which exist among the 
j merchants are fully recognized by the Russians themselves. In all 
j moral affairs the lower classes in Russia are very lenient in their 
| judgments, and are strongly disposed, like Americans, to admire what 
is called in our phraseology “a smart man,” though the smartness is 
fc known to contain a large admixture of dishonesty; and yet the vox 
I populi in Russia emphatically declares that the merchants as*a class 
f are unscrupulous and dishonest. There is a rude popular play, in 
j which the Devil, as principal dramatis persona, succeeds in cheating 
I all manner and conditions of men, but is finally over-reached by a 
[ genuine Russian merchant. When this play is acted in the Carnival 
j Theatre in St. Petersburg, the audience invariably agree with the 
I moral of the plot. 

If this play were acted in the southern towns near the coast of the 
j Black Sea it would be necessary to modify it considerably, for here, in 
j company with Jews, Greeks, and Armenians, the Russian merchants 
j seem honest by comparison. As to Greeks and Armenians, it is 




















218 


THE TOWNS AND MERCANTILE CLASSES. 


difficult to decide which of the two nationalities deserves the palm, but 
it seems that both are surpassed by the Children of Israel. It is said 
that they buy up wheat in the villages at eleven roubles per Tchetvert, 
transport it to the coast at their own expense, and sell it to the 
exporters at ten roubles! And yet they contrive to make a profit. 

If we might express a general opinion regarding Russian com^ 
mercial morality, we should say that trade in Russia is carried on 
very much on the same principle as horse-dealing in America. A man 
who wishes to buy or sell must trust to his own knowledge and acute¬ 
ness, and if he gets the worst of a bargain or lets himself be deceived, 
he has himself to blame. Commercial foreigners on arriving in Russia 
rarely understand this, and when they know it theoretically, they are 
too often unable, from their ignorance of the language, the laws, and 
the customs of the people, to turn their theoretical knowledge to 
account. They indulge, therefore, at first in endless invectives against 
the prevailing dishonesty; but gradually, when they have paid what 
Germans call Lehrgeld, they accommodate themselves to circumstances, 
take large profits to counterbalance bad debts, and generally succeed 
—if they have sufficient energy, mother-wit, and capital—in making 
a very handsome income. 

It must not be supposed that the unsatisfactory organization of the 
Russian commercial world is the result of any radical peculiarity of 
the Russian character. All new countries have to pass through a 
similar state of things, and in Russia there are already premonitory 
symptoms of a change for the better. For the present, it is true, the 
extensive construction of railways and the rapid development of banks 
and limited liability companies have opened up a new and wide field 
for all kinds of commercial swindling; but, on the other hand, there 
are now in every large town a certain number of merchants who have 
learnt by experience that honesty is the best policy. The success which 
many of these have obtained will doubtless cause their example to be 
followed. The old spirit of caste and routine which has long animated 
the merchant class is rapidly disappearing, and not a few nobles are 
now exchanging country life and the service of the State for industrial 
and commercial enterprises. In this way is being formed the nucleus 
of that wealthy, enlightened bourgeoisie, which Catherine endeavored 
to create by legislation; but many years must elapse before this class 
acquires sufficient social and political significance to deserve the title 


of a liers-etat. 






THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 


2.9 


CHAPTER XII. 

THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 

From whatever side the traveller approaches St. Petersburg, unless 
he goes thither by sea, he must traverse several hundred miles of 
forest and morass, presenting few traces of human habitation or 
agriculture. This fact adds powerfully to the first impression which 
the city makes on his mind. In the midst of a waste howling wilder¬ 
ness, he suddenly comes on a magnificent artificial oasis. 

Of all the great European cities the one which most resembles the 
capital of the Czars is Berlin. Both are built on perfectly level 
ground; both have wide, regularly-arranged, badly-paved streets; in 
both there is a general look of stiffness and symmetry which suggests 
military discipline and German bureaucracy. But there is at least 
one profound difference. Though Berlin is said by geographers to be 
built on the Spree, we might live a long time in the city without ever 
noticing the sluggish, dirty little stream on which the name of a river 
has been undeservedly conferred. St. Petersburg, on the contrary, is 
built on a magnificent river, which forms the main feature of the 
place. By its breadth, and by the enormous volume of its clear, blue, 
cold water, the Neva is certainly one of the noblest rivers in Europe. 
A few miles before reaching the Gulf of Finland it breaks up into 
several streams and forms a delta. It is here that St. Petersburg 
stands. The principal part of the town is built on the southern bank; 
the remainder is scattered over the northern bank and the islands. 
The chief of these is Basil Island, or Vassiliostrof, connected with the 
southern bank by a long stone bridge, remarkable for the beauty of 
its outline. This is the only great stone bridge of which the city can 
boast, but there are numerous wooden ones—some supported by piles, 
and other by boats like the well-known floating bridges on the Khine 
—which connect the islands with each other and with the mainland. 
At many intermediate points the communication is kept up in summer 
by picturesque, little two-oared ferry-boats, built, it is said, on a model 
designed by Peter the Great. Some of the more distant parts of the 
town may be conveniently reached by means of the active little steam- 


220 


THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 


launches,, which dart about, and add to the animation of the scene. 
In winter these ferry-boats and launches disappear, and the bridges 
lose much of their importance, for the river is covered throughout its 
whole extent by a thick firm layer of ice, strong enough to support 
the heaviest burdens. 

The main stream, or “Big Neva/’ spanned by the stone bridge and 
by three bridges of boats, flows between the city properly so-called 
and Yassiliostrof, and is kept within proper bounds by quays and 
embankments solidly built and faced w T ith massive blocks of red 
granite. On the southern side the embankment is used as a street or 
promenade. The quays of Vassiliostrof, on the contrary, are employed 
for commercial purposes, and are always lined during the summer 
months by a goodly array of shipping. At the eastern extremity of 
the island stands the Custom-house and the Exchange, and here the 
foreign merchants, who monopolize the export and import trade, most 
da congregate. 

St. Petersburg is, in a metropolitan sense, the newest city in Europe. 
It was founded, erected, decorated, stocked, peopled, and furnished, with 
well-nigh inconceivable rapidity by the indomitable will and under the 
unremitting personal superintendence of one of the most intelligent and 
the most ruthless despots that the world has ever seen—Peter the Great. 
The actual population of the city is close upon 700,000. In the first 
year of the eighteenth century it would have been very easy to compute 
its population. There was nobody in St. Petersburg at all; nobody who 
was not nomadic at least between Lake Ladoga, where the Neva rises, 
and the Gulf of Finland, into which the river falls. But, in 1703, Peter, 
having finished his shipwright’s apprenticeship in Holland, and having 
visited England, decreed that he would have “a window' looking out 
into Europe,’’ and well has the city fulfilled its purpose, for from its 
foundation may be dated the European period of Russian history. 
The Great Czar was physically as well as morally a giant; he had 
plenty of warm fur coats and caps, and so did not mind the cold, 
being an Emperor, he naturally did not care if the many millions of 
his subjects who were destitute of fur coats and caps shivered and 
shook until they nearly chattered their teeth out of their heads in a 
horribly inhospitable climate; and, finally, his Imperial Majesty v T as 
notoriously subject to intermitting fits of madness. Nobody but an 
occasional maniac, we should imagine, w r ould have thought of building 
a city on such a spot. 


TIIE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 


221 



















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































222 


THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 


It was to be built nevertheless. Peter had so willed it; and that 
gigantic genius was one of those personages who once in a century or 
so come into the world apparently for the purpose of having their own 
way, and who have it with a vengeance. He brought many thousands 
of peasants from every part of Russia, and from Finland, and set 
them to work, in true Egyptian taskmaster-fashion, on his new city. 
Forty thousand was the annual contingent of moujiks “ conscripted” 
for this purpose, the Czar dwelling among them in one of those log 
cabins of which he was so fond, and personally superintending the 
progress of the works. He was not unprovided, we may be sure, with 
a big stick wherewith to accelerate the movements of the masons and 
carpenters. People who have their own way usually carry a big 
stick, and are accustomed to lay it about them lustily. Peter’s staff 
of command—and correction—is still preserved in the strange museum 
of personal relics of the mighty Czar, which forms one of the attrac¬ 
tions of the Hermitage. 

St. Petersburg began on the north side of the Neva; and in 1705 
the broad, handsome street called the Milliouaya, at the extremity of 
which is the Hermitage, w T as built. The large island between the 
Great and Little Neva was colonized by the serfs of the famous 
favorite Menschikoff; but he did not give his name to the quarter 
granted to him. The island was called and is still known as Vassil- 
iostrof, or Basil’s Island, from one Major Vasil or Basil, who was 
placed in command of a block-housd at the eastern point thereof. 
The first brick tenement in Petersburg was built in 1710, by Chan¬ 
cellor Count Golovkin; and in 1711 the construction of the Admiralty 
was begun, in brick. The difficulties in the way of building were 
simply tremendous. They equaled the obstacles which lay in the 
way of the founders of Venice. They surpassed the problems which 
puzzled the architects of Amsterdam. It had pleased Peter to order 
that his metropolis should be built in the midst of a morass; and into 
this sloppy marsh it was necessary to drive millions upon millions of 
wooden piles before the foundations proper of the houses could be laid. 
As a consequence, St. Petersburg, splendidly embanked as is the Neva 
throughout the whole length of the town, is in chronic danger of 
inundation, especially after a thaw, and at the period of the spring 
tides; and it is considered not at all unlikely that some day or another 
it may be sw r ept away altogether. 







THE R • SSIAJV CAPITAL. 


223 


One thing in St. Petersburg the Autocrat was powerless to do. He 
could not make his city healthy. Setting aside the normal asperity 
of the climate—the merciless rigor of the long winter and the scorch¬ 
ing heat of the brief summer, with a soaking spring and a foggy 
autumn of yet shorter duration, the quaking bog on which the city is 
built makes it the abode at most times of a number of distressing 
maladies. Catarrh, rheumatism, bronchial affections, and asthma are 
the prevailing diseases of the winter; while ague and dysentery are 
the chief ailments of the summer in St. Petersburg. Twenty years 
ago Asiatic cholera was chronic in the lower quarters of the town; but 
sanitary matters have much mended within that period, and cases of 
cholera are but rarely heard of in the St. Petersburg of the present 
day. 

The enlargement and the embellishment of the city of the Czar 
have been well-nigh unremittingly pursued from the very first moment 
of its inception to the times in which we live. In the course of a 
century and a half it was but natural to expect that some slums and 
rookeries should grow up; and where such disfigurements to the state¬ 
liness of the city have been found to exist, they must be ascribed first 
to the circumstance that the dwellings of the peasants who were 
draughted into the service of building St. Petersburg were hastily run 
up, and almost invariably constructed of the perishable material, 
wood; and next to the habits and mode of life of the humbler classes 
of the population, which even in this enlightened age are far from 
cleanly, but which in by-gone days were indescribably unsavory. The 
slums and the rookeries—situated as they principally are in the 
remotest outskirts of the town—are rapidly disappearing; and the 
substitution of brick for rough-hewn logs as a building material has 
grown to be well-nigh universal. The masses, again, are at present 
able to earn more money for themselves than was the case in the days 
of their serfdom —then they toiled in order that their roubles and 
kopecks might swell the revenues of their lords and masters. The 
Petersburg moujik of 1877 is, materially speaking, by no means badly 
sff; and he is, consequently, becoming less and less habituated to 
residing in a pigstye. He is learning to read, too, and to write, and 
V.nd to take some interest in politics; he has (since he is no longer 
beaten by his master or by the police) all but abandoned the practice of 
thrashing his wife—a recreation of which he was formerly extremely 


224 


THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 


fond; and, if he were not so grossly superstitious and so fervently 
addicted to getting tipsy whenever he has a chance of obtaining vodka, 
the moujik might be contrasted, certainly not greatly to his disadvan¬ 
tage, with the working man of any other European capital. The 
Government, unfortunately, both directly and indirectly encourages 
the superstition of the common people, fanaticism being usually found 
a most valuable aid to the preservation of Russian conservatism; it is 
the brine which keeps the old carcass of despotism from putrefying; 
but the supreme authority has, to its honor, done of late years every¬ 
thing in its power to diminish the drunkenness of the people. The 
municipality of St. Petersburg have recently closed at least a third 
of the low brandy shops which formerly swarmed in the more densely 
populated quarters, w T hile, on the other hand, breweries are actively 
fostered; and a light and wholesome beer is now made, to which the 
people seem to be taking very kindly. They are likewise tremendous 
tea drinkers; and, on the whole, the tourist sees nowadays fewer tipsy 
people in the streets of Petersburg than at Moscow. The encourage¬ 
ment given to temperance reflects the greatest credit on the Govern¬ 
ment, when it is remembered that the Imperial revenue is accustomed 
to benefit largely from the excise on home-manufactured vodka. 

Another and very characteristic cause has likewise tended to 
diminish the number of the St. Petersburg rookeries. Formerly fires 
were as rife at St. Petersburg as they are still rife at Pera, in which 
last interesting suburb of Constantinople the average number of 
conflagrations is two and a half per day, from about ten to fifty houses 
usually “ burning up” at each fire. The Czar Nicholas used to say 
that a St. Petersburg fire on a large scale nearly equaled a review in 
the opportunities it afforded for testing the capabilities and exhibiting 
the mettle of his Imperial Guard. If the fire was a “first-class 
blaze,” the Grand Dukes, and even the Emperor himself, attended 
the conflagration in person; but this system was not unattended by 
disadvantages. The St. Petersburg Fire Corps is essentially a military 
organization; and military etiquette demanded that the officer who was 
highest in rank should take the command of all the troops on the 
ground; and, as Russian Emperors and Grand Dukes even in modern 
times are personages who usually insist upon having their own way, 
the commanders of the St. Petersburg Fire Brigade found with sad 
frequency that their operations were sadly hampered and impeded by 


THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL 


225 



Russian Cossacks Exploring the Country. 


Grand Ducal or by Imperial interference. The plentitude of wooden, 
houses and overheated stoves, and a careless population, much given 
to going to bed in a state of vodka, and putting lighted candles under¬ 
neath their pillows, were among the commonest causes of the fires 
which used to devastate St. Petersburg by the whole quarter at a 
time. These catastrophes are at present of far less frequent occurrence, 
the Fire Corps is much better drilled, and is somewhat more indepen¬ 
dent in action than of yore; and fires are, in general, easily extin¬ 
guished. The most stringent precautions continue, however, to be 
taken against the Fire Demon; and the city is dotted with tall wooden 
towers, in the topmost galleries of which watchmen are stationed, both 
by day and by night, to look out for a redness in the sky. The 
extensive fires of by-gone times are not (save when they were accom¬ 
panied by loss of life) to be regretted. They burned the rookeries 
down, and the rookeries have not been rebuilt. The most repulsive 
quarters of St. Petersburg comprise at present very few log cabins; 
but they abound in dirty, squalid brick edifices very closely resembling 
15 













































226 


THE RUSS I AH CAPITAL. 


the “ tenement houses” of the lower districts of New York. In these 
houses, which sometimes shelter as many as a hundred families, lurk 
the dangerous classes of the Russian capital. The tenement houses 
are General TrepofFs rabbit-warren. Thither come the agents of the 
terrible chief of the Pretopolitan police (General TrepofFs name, if it 
be uttered aloud, is generally pronounced in a whisper, so intense is 
the terror which this formidable personage inspires). In these tene¬ 
ments do the police find the assassins, the burglars, the bank-note 
forgers, the swindlers and vagrants of whom they are in quest. But 
when political conspirators, Socialists, Nihilists, Polish patriots, and 
what not, are “ wanted ” it is much further a field, and to far different 
quarters of the city that TrepofFs detectives are fain to go. The 
conspirators have to be pounced upon in Basil Island, in the neighbor¬ 
hood of the University, and sometimes in the most fashionable quarters 
of the city. 

The tourist may obtain an accurate knowledge of the topography 
of the city by ascending the dome of St. Isaac’s Cathedral. Thence 
looking north, he will behold the island of Yassiliostrof, with the 
Exchange, the University, the Academy of Sciences, and the Military 
School. To the left is the Krepust, or Citadel, and beyond, north and 
west, are the islands of Aptekarski, Kamennoi, Petrofski, Krestofski, 
and Elaghinski. In some of these islands the great nobles and wealthy 
bankers of Petersburg have their splendid villas; and at Aptekarski 
is the College of Surgeons. The islands of the Neva are in summer 
time delightful places of resort, and Krestofski is, in particular, the 
special rendezvous for the German colony. There are probably a 
hundred thousand Teutons in St. Petersburg. At Krestofski, in 
summer, take place picnics lasting from midnight until morn; there 
is light enough to read small print the whole night through, and the 
sun never seems to set—it only dips across the horizon, and is born 
again before it dies. 

It is to be noted that to the East of the Great Nevka, and on the north 
bank of the Neva, stretch long ranges of barracks, factories, and Gov¬ 
ernment establishments. The outer walls of all public buildings, not 
being churches or palaces, are invariably painted with one “ adminis¬ 
trative” hue—a dull yellow ochre; and the effect produced thereby on 
the eye is the reverse of pleasant. The communication between the 
mainland and the islands is by four bridges, the Nicolaiefski Most, so 


THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 


227 


called after the Czar Nicholas, a stately structure of granite piers with 
graceful arches; the Dvortsoior Palace Bridge, which is of boats, between 
the Exchange and the Winter Palace; the Troitski or Trinity Bridge, 
between the fortress and the Champ de Mars, and, finally, the Liteiny, 
likewise a floating bridge of lighters. When the ice of the Neva 
begins to “pack,” as it does about November, the floating bridges are 
removed; but so soon as the river is well frozen over the bridges are 
restored to their places. There is a general sensation of relief when 
the winter has thus begun in real earnest. The Russians prefer a 
sound, solid, inflexibly hard frost to the mere dallying and shilly¬ 
shallying of alternate frost and thaw, which mark the first fortnight 
in November, and sometimes the whole of that month. When the ice 
on the bosom of the Neva has solidified to a proper wintry degree of 
thickness people know that the worst has come, and they prepare with 
Spartan fortitude to “ grin and bear it.” To a foreigner, at least, the 
inconvenience lies in the fact that the “worst” of w T hich we have 
spoken lasts for four, and very often for five, months. The good peo¬ 
ple of Petersburg endeavor meanwhile to make themselves as com¬ 
fortable as they can under the circumstances. Everybody who pos¬ 
sesses a schoub , or fur-lined pelisse, enwraps himself in that commodious, 
although clumsy-looking garment, the skirts of which descend to his 
heels, while the huge fur cuffs nearly cover his finger-tips and the 
huger fur collar protects his ears and ascends to the tip of his nose. 
You cannot buy, in Petersburg at least, a schoub of even the most in¬ 
ferior kind of fur for less than seventy-five dollars, and you may, if 
you are rich enough, give as much as five hundred dollars, or even 
twelve hundred dollars for one of the superb sable mantles sold by the 
aristocratic furriers of the Nevski, the Bolschoi Morskaia, or the 
Gostinnoi-Dvor. 

The Neva thus frozen hard, the shovels of an army of moujiks , 
aided by the strong blast blowing from the Lake of Ladoga, smooth 
away the roughnesses of the frozen field, and soon the whole face of 
the stream gleams with glassy brightness. Wells are dug at stated 
intervals in the thick ice to supplement the water supply by draughts^ 
from the rapid current which flow's beneath. A broad road is swept 
and garnished leading from above the city right down to Cronstadt. 
This road is prettily bordered with dwarf evergreens, with larch and 
birch trees, and makes a capital promenade. Sleigh-driving sets in 



228 


THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 


with amazing dash and vigor; and the streets of Petersburg (which is 
at most times rather a silent city) resound throughout the day and late 
into the night to the incessant jingling of the sleigh-bells. The tin¬ 
tinnabulation is not entirely of an ornamental or festive character. 
The jingling is intended to save foot-passengers from being run over, 
for the runners of the sleds glide so gently and yet with such rapidity 
over the snow as to be well-nigh inaudible until the horses’ hoofs are 
within a few inches of you. It is not safe to walk in the snow unless 
you are provided with high boots lined with fur or lambs-wool, or 
unless (as the general custom is) you wear india-rubber goloeshes. 
When you pay a visit you remove your overshoes—which are fur¬ 
nished with little rudimentary spurs in the heel, so as to be easily 
kicked off—in the hall of the house, and when your visit is at an end 
you resume your goloeshes again. If you are awkward in donning or 
doffing these flexible sabots, the dvornik or the moujilc in attendance 
down stairs is always ready ,to assist you, and you reward him with a 
few kopecks for his pains. 

The common one-horse sledges which ply for hire in St. Petersburg 
are not comfortable. There is scarcely room on the seat behind the 
driver for a single passenger. The bulwarks of the sledge are but 
frail. It is supported on runners without springs; and, if you dont 
trim the boat—or sledge—with extreme care, the probabilities are 
disagreeably in favor of the entire concern tipping over. The driver 
is used to these little casualties. He has not far to fall, and he has a 
way of rolling himself over and over in the snow, and then of coming 
up again, smiling, like a frozen miller. The horse, too, seems to be 
used to occasional tumbles, and rather to like a recumbent position in 
the soft snow; but the case of the passenger is far different, especially 
if he have a companion who falls on the top of him, while the heavy 
runners of the sledge fall atop of both. The drivers are civil fellows 
enough, clad, in summer-time, in caftans of blue cloth and low-crowned 
hats with curly brims; and, in winter time, in turban-shaped fur caps, 
and flowing robes lined with imitation astracan or some cheap fur. 
Their waists are girt with sashes of brilliant hues —once brilliant hues 
would, perhaps, be the most appropriate expression. The majority 
of these drivers are tawny, brawny, flowing-bearded peasants of the 
unmistakable Sclavonic type, but among them there is a considerable 
proportion of mere striplings, seemingly of not more than fifteen or 


THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL . 


229 



General Nepokoitschitzky, Chief of the Staff of the Russian Army 

on the Danube. 

sixteen. It is a rare thing to meet with a Tartar ischvostchik in St. 
Petersburg. They may occasionally be seen in Moscow; but, on the 
other hand, the waiters in the hotels and restaurants in both capitals 
are nearly always Tartars. The landlords prefer a Tartar to a Sclav, 
because the former is a Mohammedan, who drinks no fermented 
liquors and disdains to steal anything save horseflesh. The honestest 
Tartar, they say, cannot occasionally resist the temptation of illegally 
turning ahorse to his own use and profit; and it is for this reason, 
perhaps, that there are no Tartar drivers of hackney carriages in St. 
Petersburg. The cab-masters may be nervous lest a Calmuck driver 
should run away some morning, horse and all, and never come back 
again. In'summer time, of course, the sledge with its runners is 






230 - 


THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 


replaced by a jolting, rattling little droschky. This vehicle is a little 
roomier than the winter time sledge, and still leaves a good deal to be 
desired. 

Official tariff of fares there is none; the driver is entitled to charge 
as much as he likes; hut no one but a lunatic would think, after he 
had been a couple of days in St. Petersburg, of engaging a droschky 
or a sledge without making a preliminary bargain with the charioteer 
thereof. As a rule, the demand made by the driver is not extortionate 
and the bargain is easily struck, and rigidly adhered to by the Russian 
Jehu. If you present him with a trifle of copper money as a gratuity 
over and above his fare he will shed tears of joy—it is when he has 
been drinking too much vodka that he weeps most plentifully—still, if 
you give him nothing beyond the sum stipulated to be paid he does not 
upbraid you; far less does he strew over you the flowers of a Sclavonic 
Billingsgate, as some American cabmen are rather too prone to do. 
A rouble will about cover the longest journey you could undertake 
in the streets of St. Petersburg; while for a short course so moderate a 
fee as twenty kopecks (about fifteen cents) will often be cheerfully 
accepted. 

The drivers of these carriages;—and those also who steer the private 
equipages of the Russian nobility and gentry—seem to be men of iron, 
wholly impervious to the effects of cold; and your coachman will take 
you to the opera, thence to three or four parties, thence to a couple of 
clubs, or wait cheerfully for you in the frigid courtyard of some great 
mansion, or on one of the bleak and wind-swept quays of the Neva, 
until four or five on a December morning. In the vicinity of the 
great theatres and the Imperial palaces there are permanent circular 
braziers of iron roofed in, and in which roaring fires of logs are lit on 
wintry nights. The watchmen gather around these jovial bivouacs, 
clap their fur-gloved hands together, warm their poor chilled noses, 
and are happy. 

Resuming our fancied station, perched on the topmost cupola of St. 
Isaac’s, we can easily descry the great edifice of the Admiralty with 
its graceful gilded spire. Southward the great bulk of the city—the 
portion inhabited by the Court, the nobility, the corps diplomatique, 
and the principal bankers, merchants and shopkeepers—stretches in 
thickly-serried lines and blocks, the Neva pursuing for nearly four 
miles a southwesterly course. The districts on this side the river are 


THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 


231 


divided into three semicircular regions by as many canals, the Moika, 
the Ekaterina and the Fontanka. It is well worth while to bear this 
topographical arrangement in mind, since it closely and curiously 
resembles the lines on which the city of Amsterdam is built. It would 
seem as though the ex-shipwright of Saardam had never been able to 
efface the remembrance of Holland from his mind; as though he had 
consciously or unconsciously adopted the Dutch capital, the arrange¬ 
ment of whose streets and canals has been compared to the section of 
half an onion, as a model for his autocratically-planned metropolis. 
Another Dutch town, Rotterdam, was called long ago a “vulgar 
Venice.” Waterside St. Petersburg might from more than one point 
of view be qualified as a sublime Rotterdam. 

Like the river, everything in St. Petersburg is on a colossal scale. 
The streets, the squares, the palaces, the public buildings, the churches, 
whatever may be their defects, have at least the attribute of great¬ 
ness, and seem to have been designed for the countless generations to 
come, rather than for the practical wants of the present inhabitants. 
In this respect the city well represents the Empire of which it is the 
capital. Even the private houses are built in enormous blocks, many 
of them containing more than a score of separate apartments. 

This custom of building big houses has rendered possible a peculiar 
and effective system of police organization. Each house has a dvornik, 
or porter, who is a servant of the proprietor and at the same time a 
police agent. He has to sweep, and in summer to water the street in 
front of the house, and to see that all the inmates observe scrupulously 
the passport regulations. At night he has to remain outside in the 
street and act as watchman. The fact that these men commonly lie 
down and go to sleep during the long winter nights, when the ther¬ 
mometer may sink to thirty degrees below zero, and that they are 
rarely if ever frozen to death, constitutes a brilliant proof of the 
Russian’s wonderful capacity for resisting extreme cold. Formerly, 
it is said, these watchmen often aided the police in waylaying and 
robbing benighted citizens; but all such practices have become things 
of the past, and the police of St. Petersburg may now challenge^ 
comparison with those of the other European capitals. 

The three principal streets of the city radiate from the Admiralty 
Place, and throughout the whole length of these streets the Admiralty 
spire is visible, closing the vista towards the river. These three 


232 


THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 


thoroughfares are the world-renowned Nevski Prospekt, or “ Perspec¬ 
tive of the Neva;” the Gorokhovaia-Oulitza, or “Pease-street;” and 
the Vosnesenski-Prospekt, or “Ascension Perspective.” The other 
principal streets are the Bolschoi and Mala (great and little) Morskaias, 
the Millionaia, the Kazanskaia, or street of Kazan, and the Sadovaya, 
or Garden street. All these streets are strictly rectilinear, and are 
crossed by the smaller thoroughfares at right angles. For admistra- 
tive purposes the streets are divided into three classes—first, Perspec¬ 
tives, which might be likened to Boulevards; next, Oulitzas, or 
ordinary streets; and, thirdly, Pereouloks, or minor cross streets. 

St. Petersburg has, of course, its “lions,” which every tourist is 
expected to visit and admire. There is, for instance, St. Isaac’s Cathe¬ 
dral, from whose dome we have taken our bird’s-eye view;, an enormous 
building in Renaissance style, with gilded dome and gigantic monolithic 
pillars of red granite. The general effect of the exterior, especially 
when covered with a layer of sparkling hoar-frost, is very fine; but 
the interior has been spoiled by rich, gaudy decorations, which might 
supply admirable illustrations for a sermon on pretentious vulgarity 
and bad taste. A much less successful architectural effort is the 
• Kazan Church, which is often praised by Russians as the work of a 
native artist, but which is in reality a striking illustration of that 
spirit of thoughtless imitation which is too often to be found in Rus¬ 
sian institutions. The gigantic, semicircular colonnade, suggested by 
that of St. Peter’s at Rome, is so utterly out of proportion with the 
rest of the structure, that it completely hides the body of the church, 
while the dome peeps over the formidable barrier like a culprit con¬ 
demned to imprisonment for life and apathetically resigned to his fate. 
Then there is the Winter Palace, which finds favor in the eyes of those 
who believe in the transcendant genius of Rastrelli, but which is com¬ 
pletely wanting in the stern, massive grandeur which the name suggests. 
Some of the. minor palaces are much more in keeping with the nature 
of the climate, but they present nothing that can be called a Russian 
style of architecture. There is a Russian style, but it is suitable only 
for wooden buildings. In their stone buildings the Russians have, like 
the other Northern nations, borrowed largely from the countries of 
Southern Europe without considering the difference of climate. What 
the Petersburgians may be justly proud of is the general grandiose 
appearance of their city, and not the beauty of particular edifices. 



THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 


233 



Of statues and other monuments there is a goodly quantity, dis¬ 
playing all degrees of merit, from the equestrian statue of Peter the 
Great, which is really a work of art, to the statues and busts in the 
Summer Garden, which are simply artistic monstrosities. Pictures, 


















































































































































234 


THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL. 


too, there are in abundance. The Hermitage, for instance, contains a 
really magnificent collection of the Dutch school, and a large number 
of works attributed to Italian and Spanish old masters—all more or 
less genuine. But we need not trespass on the domain of the art 
critic, nor need we weary the reader with descriptions of what has 
already been described in the guide-books. In St. Petersburg, as else¬ 
where, sight-seeing is a weariness of the flesh; and the tourist may 
employ his time much more agreeably in sauntering about the streets 
and bazaars, especially if it be in winter time. 

There is, however, one “sight” which must have a deep interest for 
those w T ho are sensitive to the influence of historical associations—we 
mean the little wooden house in which Peter the Great lived whilst his 
future capital was being built. In its style and arrangement it looks 
more like the hut of a navvy than the residence of a Czar, but it was 
quite in keeping with the character of the illustrious man w 7 ho occu¬ 
pied it. Peter could and did occasionally work like a navvy without 
feeling that his Imperial dignity w 7 as thereby diminirhed. When he 
determined to build a new capital on a Finnish marsh, inhabited 
chiefly by wild-fowl, he did not content himself with exercising his au¬ 
tocratic power in a comfortable arm-chair. Like the old Greek gods, 
he went down from his Olympus, and took his place in the ranks of 
ordinary mortals, superintending the w 7 ork with his own eyes, and 
taking part in it with his ow 7 n hands. If he was as arbitrary and 
oppressive as any of the pyramid-building Pharaohs, he could at least 
say in self-justification that he did not spare himself any more than his 




Ice-Elephant and Fountain. 















THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION. 


235 


CHAPTER XIII. 

THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION. 

The gigantic administrative machine which holds together all the 
various parts of the vast Empire, and secures public order and tran¬ 
quility, has been gradually created by successive generations, but we 
may say roughly that it was first designed and constructed by Peter 
the Great. Before his time the country was governed in a rude, 
primitive fashion. The Grand Princes of Moscow, in subduing their 
rivals and annexing the surrounding principalities, merely cleared the 
ground for a great homogeneous State, and made no attempt to build 
a symmetrical political edifice. Wily, practical politicians, rather 
than statesmen, they never dreamed of introducing uniformity and 
symmetry into the administration. They spared and developed the 
ancient institutions, so far as these were useful and consistent with the 
exercise of autocratic power, and made only such alterations as prac¬ 
tical necessity demanded. And these necessary alterations were more 
frequently local than general. Special decisions, instruction to par¬ 
ticular officials, and charters for particular communes or proprietors, 
were much more common than general legislative measures. In short, 
the old Muscovite Czars practiced a tentative, hand-to-mouth policy, 
ruthlessly destroying whatever caused temporary inconvenience, and 
giving little heed to what did not force itself upon their attention. 
Hence, under their rule the administration presented not only terri¬ 
torial peculiarities, but also an ill-assorted combination of different 
systems in the same district, a conglomeration of institutions belonging 
to different epochs. 

This irregular system, or rather want of system, seemed highly 
unsatisfactory to the logical mind of Peter the Great, who was all his 
life a thorough doctrinaire. He conceived the grand design of sweeping 
it away, and putting in its place a symmetrical bureaucratic machine, 
constructed according to the newest principles of political science. It 
is scarcely necessary to say that this magnificent project, so foreign to 
the traditional ideas and customs of the people, was not easily realized. 
Imagine a man, without technical knowledge, without skilled work- 


2C6 


THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION. 


men, without good tools, and with no better material than soft, 
crumbling sandstone, endeavoring to build a palace on a marsh! The 
undertaking would seem to reasonable minds utterly absurd, and yet 
it must be admitted that Peter’s project was scarcely more feasible, 
lie had neither technical knowledge, nor the requisite materials, nor 
a firm foundation to build on. With his usual Titanic energy he 
demolished the old structure, but his attempts to construct were little 
more than a series of failures. In his numerous ukases he has left us 
a graphic description of his efforts, and it is at once instructive and 
saddening to watch the great worker toiling indefatigably at his self- 
imposed task. His instruments are constantly breaking in his hands. 
The foundations of the building are continually giving way, and the 
lower tiers crumbling under the superincumbent weight. A whole 
section is found to be unsuitable, and is ruthlessly pulled down, or 
falls of its own accord. And yet the builder toils on, with a persever¬ 
ance and energy of purpose that compel admiration, frankly confessing 
his mistakes and failures, and patiently seeking the means of remedying 
them, never allowing a word of despondency to escape him, and never 
despairing of ultimate success. And at length death comes, and the 
mighty builder is snatched away suddenly in the midst of his unfin¬ 
ished labors, bequeathing to his successors the task of carrying on the 
great work. 

None of these successors possessed Peter’s genius and energy, but 
they were all compelled by the force of circumstances to adopt hi3 
plans. A return to the old rough and ready rule of the Voyevods 
was impossible. As the autocratic power became more and more 
imbued with Western ideas, it felt more and more the need of a 
thoroughly good instrument for the realization of its policy, and 
accordingly strove to systematize and centralize the administration. 

In this change we may perceive a certain analogy with the history 
of the French administration from the time of Philippe le Bel to that 
of Louis XIV. In both countries we see the central power bringing 
the local administrative organs more and more under its control, till 
at last it succeeds in creating a thoroughly centralized bureaucratic 
organization. But under this superficial resemblance lie profound 
differences. The French kings had to struggle with provincial sov¬ 
ereignties and feudal rights, and when they had annihilated this 
opposition, they easily found materials with which to build up the 




A Russian Bath 


HIE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION. 


237 



































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































238 


THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION. 


bureaucratic structure. The Russian sovereigns, on the contrary, met 
with no such opposition, but they had great difficulty in finding 
bureaucratic material amongst their uneducated, undisciplined sub¬ 
jects. For many generations schools and colleges in Russia were 
founded and maintained simply for the purpose of preparing men for 
the public service. 

The administration was thus brought much nearer to the West- 
European ideal, but some people have grave doubts as to whether it 
became thereby better adapted io the practical v T ants of the people 
for whom it was created. On this point, a well-known Slavophil once 
remarked, that “ till very recently there was in Russia an enormous 
amount of official peculation, extortion, and misgovernment of every 
kind, that the courts of law were dens of iniquity, that the people 
often committed perjury, and much more of the same sort, and it must 
be admitted that all this has not yet entirely disappeared. But what 
does it prove? That the Russian people are morally inferior to the 
German ? Not at all. It simply proves that the German system of 
administration, which was forced upon them without their consent, 
was utterly unsuited to their nature. If a young growing boy be 
compelled to wear very tight boots, he will probably burst them, and 
the ugly rents will doubtless produce an unfavorable impression on 
the passers-by; but surely it is better that the boots should burst than 
that the feet should be deformed. Now the Russian people w r ere 
compelled to put on not only tight boots, but also a tight jacket, and, 
being young and vigorous, it burst them. Narrow-minded, pedantic 
Germans can neither understand nor provide for the wants of the 
broad Slavonic nature.” 

In its present form the Russian administration seems at first sight a 
very imposing edifice. At the top of the pyramid stands the Emperor, 
“the autocratic monarch,” as Peter the Great described him, “who 
has to give an account of his acts to no one on earth, but has a power 
and authority to rule his states and lands as a Christian sovereign 
according to his own will and judgment.” Immediately below the 
Emperor we see the Council of State, the Committee of Ministers, and 
the Senate, which represent respectively the legislative, the adminis¬ 
trative, and the judicial power. An American glancing over the first 
volume of the Code might imagine that the Council of State is a kind 
of Congress, and the Committee of Ministers a Cabinet, but in reality 


THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION. 


239 


both institutions are simply incarnations of the autocratic power. 
Though the Council is intrusted by law with many important func¬ 
tions—such as examining and criticising the annual budget, declaring 
war, concluding peace, and performing other important duties—it has 
merely an advisory character, and the Emperor is not in any way 
bound by its decisions. The ministers are all directly and individually 
responsible to the Emperor, and therefore the Committee has no 
common responsibility or other cohesive force. As to the Senate, it 
has descended from its high estate. It was originally intrusted with 
the supreme power during the absence or minority of the monarch, 
and was intended to exercise a controlling influence in all sections of 
the administration, but now its activity is restricted to judicial matters, 
and it is little more than a supreme court of appeal. 

Immediately below these three institutions stand the Ministries, ten 
in number. They are the central points, in which converge the 
various kinds of territorial administration, and from which radiates 
the Imperial will all over the Empire. 

For the purposes of territorial administration Russia Proper—that 
is to say, European Russia, exclusive of Poland, the Baltic Provinces, 
Finland, and the Caucasus, each of which has a peculiar administra¬ 
tion of its own—is divided into forty-six provinces, or “ Governments,” 
and each Government is subdivided into districts. The average area 
of a province is about the size of Portugal, but some are as small as 
Belgium, whilst one at least is twenty-five times as large. The 
population, however, does not correspond to the amount of territory. 
In the largest province, that of Archangel, there are less than three 
hundred thousand inhabitants, whilst in some of the smaller ones there 
are over two millions. The districts likewise vary greatly in size. 

Over each province is placed a Governor, who is assisted in his 
duties by a Vice-Governor and a small council. According to the 
legislation of Catherine II., the Governor is termed “ the steward of 
the province,” and is intrusted with so many and such delicate duties, 
that in order to obtain men qualified for the post, it would be necessary 
to realize the great Empress’s design of creating, by education, “ a new 
race of people.” Down to very recent times the Governors understood 
the term “stewards” in a very literal sense, and ruled in a most 
arbitrary, high-handed style, often exercising an important influence 
on the civil and criminal tribunals. These extensive and vaguely- 


240 


THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION. 


defined powers have now been very much curtailed, partly by positive 
legislation, and partly by increased publicity and improved means of 
communication. All judicial matters have been placed completely 
beyond the Governor’s control, and many of his former functions are 
now fulfilled by the Zemstvo—the new organ of local self-government. 
Besides this, all ordinary current affairs are regulated by an already 
extensive and ever-growing body of instructions, in the form of Im¬ 
perial orders and ministerial circulars, and as soon as anything not 
provided for by the instructions happens to occur, the minister is 
consulted through the post-office or by telegraph. Even within the 
sphere of their lawful authority the Governors have now a certain 
respect for public opinion, and occasionally a very wholesome dread 
of casual newspaper correspondents. Thus the men who were formerly 
described by the satirists as “ little satraps,” have sunk to the level of 
very subordinate officials. Many (probably the majority) of them are 
honest, upright men, who are perhaps not endowed with any unusual 
administrative capacities, but who perform their duties faithfully 
according to their lights. 

Independent of the Governor, who is the local representative of the 
Ministry of the Interior, are a number of resident officials, who 
represent the other ministries, and each of them has a bureau, with 
the requisite number of assistants, secretaries and scribes. 

To keep this vast and complex bureaucratic machine in motion it is 
necessary to have a large and well-drilled army of officials. These 
are drawn chiefly from the ranks of the noblesse and the clergy, and 
form a peculiar social class called Tchinovniks, or men with “ Tchins.” 
As the Tchin plays an important part in Russia not only in the official 
world, but also to some extent in social life, it may be well to explain 
its significance. 

All offices, civil and military, are, according to a scheme invented ! 
by Peter the Great, arranged in fourteen classes or ranks, and to each 
class or rank a particular name is attached. As promotion is supposed 
to be given according to personal merit, a man who enters the public 
service for the first time must, whatever be his social position, begin 
in the lower ranks, and work his way upwards. Educational certifi¬ 
cates may exempt him from the necessity of passing through the lowest ! 
classes, and the Imperial will may disregard the restrictions laid down 
by law, but as a general rule a man must begin at or near the bottom 



THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION. 



















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































242 


THE IMTERIAL ADMINISTRATION. 


of the official ladder, and he must remain on each step a certain 
specified time. The step on which he is for the moment standing, or, 
in other words, the official rank or Tchin which he possesses, deter¬ 
mines what offices he is competent to hold. Thus rank or Tchin is a 
necessary condition for receiving an appointment, but it does not 
designate any actual office, and the names of the different ranks are 
extremely apt to mislead a foreigner. 

The reader of practical mind desires probably no further description 
of the Russian bureaucracy, but wishes to know simply how it works 
in practice. What has it done for Russia in the past, and what is it 
doing in the present? 

Without a strongly centralized administration Russia would never 
have become one of the great European powers. Until comparatively 
recent times the part of the world which is known as the Russian 
Empire was a conglomeration of independent or semi-independent 
political units; and even at the present day it is far from being a 
compact homogeneous State. It was the autocratic power, with the 
centralized administration as its necessary complement, that first 
created Russia, then saved her from dismemberment and political 
annihilation, and ultimately secured for her a place among European 
nations by introducing Western civilization. Theoretically it would 
have been better that the various units should have united sponta¬ 
neously, and that European civilization should have been voluntarily 
adopted by all classes of the inhabitants, but historically such a 
phenomenon was impossible. 

Whilst thus recognizing clearly that autocracy and a strongly 
centralized administration were necessary first for the creation and 
afterwards for the preservation of national independence, we must not 
shut our eyes to the evil consequences which resulted from this unfor¬ 
tunate necessity. It was in the nature of things that the Government, 
aiming at the realization of designs which its subjects neither sympa¬ 
thized with nor clearly understood, should have become separated 
from the nation; and the reckless haste and violence with which it 
attempted to carry out its schemes aroused a spirit of positive opposi¬ 
tion among the people. A considerable section of the people long 
looked on the reforming Czars as incarnations of the spirit of evil, and 
the Czars in their turn looked upon the people as a passive instrument 
for the carrying out of their political designs. This peculiar relation 


THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION. 


243 


between the nation and the Government has given the key-note to the 
whole system of administration. The Government has always treated 
the people as minors, utterly incapable of understanding its political 
designs, and only very partially competent to look after their own 
local affairs. The officials have naturally acted in the same spirit. 
Looking for direction and approbation merely to their superiors, they 
have systematically treated those over whom they were placed, as a 
conquered or inferior race. The State has thus come to be regarded 
as an abstract entity, with interests entirely different from those of the 
human beings composing it; and in all matters in which State interests 
are supposed to be involved, the rights of individuals are ruthlessly 
sacrificed. 

If we remember that the difficulties of centralized administration 
are always in direct proportion to the extent and territorial variety 
of the country to be governed, we may readily understand how slowly 
and imperfectly the administrative machine necessarily works in 
Russia. The whole of the vast region stretching from the Polar 
Ocean to the Caspian, and from the shores of the Baltic to the confines 
of the Celestial Empire, is administered from St. Petersburg. The 
genuine bureaucrat has a wholesome dread of formal responsibility, 
and generally tries to avoid it by taking all matters out of the hands 
of his subordinates, and passing them on to the higher authorities. 
As soon, therefore, as affairs are caught up by the administrative 
machine they begin to ascend, and probably arrive some day at the 
cabinet of the minister. Thus the ministries are flooded with papers 
—many of the most trivial import—from all parts of the Empire; and 
the higher officials, even if they had the eyes of an Argus and the 
hands of a Briareus, could not possibly fulfill conscientiously the 
duties imposed on them. In reality the Russian administrators of the 
higher ranks recall neither Argus nor Briareus. They commonly 
show neither an extensive nor a profound knowledge of the country 
which they are supposed to govern, and seem always to have a fair 
amount of leisure time at their disposal. 

Besides the unavoidable evils of excessive centralization, Russia has 
had to suffer much from the jobbery, venality, and extortion of the 
officials. When Peter the Great one day prepared to hang every 
man who should steal as much as would buy a rope, his Procurator- 
General frankly replied that if his Majesty put his project into execu- 


244 


THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION. 


tion there would be no officials left, “We all steal,” added the 
worthy official; “ the only difference is that some of us steal larger 
amounts and more openly than others.” Since these words were 
spoken more than a century and a half has passed, and during all 
that time Russia has steadily made progress in many respects, but 
until the commencement of the present reign little change took place 
iiu the moral character of the administration. The elder half of the 
present generation can still remember the time when they could have 
repeated, without much exaggeration, the confession of Peter’s Procu¬ 
rator-General. 

To appreciate aright this ugly phenomenon we must distinguish two 
kinds of venality. On the one hand there was the habit of exacting 
what are vulgarly termed “tips” for services performed, and on the 
other there were the various kinds of positive dishonesty. Though it 
might not be always easy to draw a clear line between the two cate¬ 
gories, the distinction was fully recognized in the moral consciousness 
of the time, and many an official who received regularly “sinless 
revenues,” as the tips were sometimes called, would have been very 
indignant had he been stigmatized as a dishonest man. The practice . 
was, in fact, universal, and could be, to a certain extent, justified by 
the smallness of the official salaries. In some departments there was 
a recognized tariff. The “ brandy farmers,” for example, paid regu¬ 
larly a fixed sum to every official, from the governor to the policeman, - 
according to his rank. In one case an official, on receiving a larger 
sum than was customary, conscientiously handed back the change! 
The other and more heinous offences were by no means so common, 
but were still fearfully frequent. Many high officials and important 
dignitaries were known to receive large revenues, to which the term 
“sinless” could not by any means be applied, and yet they retained 
their position, and were received in society with respectful deference. 

The sovereigns were always perfectly aware of the abuses, and all 
strove more or less to root them out, but the success which attended 
their efforts does not give us a very exalted idea of the practical 
omnipotence of autocracy. In a centralized bureaucratic administra¬ 
tion, in which each official is to a certain extent responsible for the 
sins of his subordinates, it is always extremely difficult to bring an 
official culjnit to justice, for he is sure to be protected by his superiors; 
and when the superiors are themselves habitually guilty of malprac- 




THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION 


245 



Cossacks Entrenched behind their Trained Horses. 


tices, the culprit is quite safe from exposure and punishment. The 
Czar, indeed, might do much towards exposing and punishing offenders 
if he could venture to call in public opinion to his assistance, but in 
reality he is very apt to become a party to the system of hushing up 
official delinquencies. He is himself the first official in the realm, 
and he knows that the abuse of power by a subordinate has a tendency 
to produce hostility towards the fountain of all official power. Fre¬ 
quent punishment of officials might, it is thought, diminish public 
respect for the Government, and undermine that social discipline 
which is necessary for the public tranquility. It is therefore considered 
expedient to give to official delinquencies as little publicity as possible. 
1 Besides this, strange as it may seem, a Government which rests on the 
arbitrary will of a single individual is, notwithstanding occasional out¬ 
bursts of severity, much less systematically and invariably severe than 
authority founded on free public opinion. When delinquencies occur 
in very high places the Czar is almost sure to display a leniency 
approaching to tenderness If it be necessary to make a sacrifice to 
justice, the sacrificial operation is likely to be made as painless a* 
































246 


THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION. 


may be, and illustrious scapegoats are not allowed to die of starvation 
In the wilderness—the wilderness being generally Paris or Baden- 
Baden. This fact may seem strange to those who are in the habit of 
associating autocracy with Neapolitan dungeons and the mines of 
Siberia, but it is not difficult to explain. No individual, even though 
he should be the Autocrat of all the Russias, can so case himself in 
the armor of official dignity as to be completely proof against personal 
influences. The severity of autocrats is reserved for political offenders, 
against whom they naturally harbor a feeling of personal resentment. 
It is so much easier to be lenient and charitable towards a man who 
sins against public morality, than towards one who sins against our 
own interests! 

In justice to the bureaucratic reformers in Russia, it must be said 
that they have preferred prevention to cure. Refraining from all 
Draconian legislation, they have put their faith in a system of in¬ 
genious checks and a complicated formal procedure. When we 
examine the complicated formalities and labyrinthine procedure by 
which the administration is controlled, our first impression is that 
administrative abuses must be almost impossible. Every possible act 
of every official seems to have been foreseen, and every possible outlet 
from the narrow path of honesty seems to have been carefully walled 
up. As the American reader has probably no conception of formal 
procedure in a highly centralized bureaucracy, let us give an instance 
by way of illustration. 

In the residence of a Governor-General one of the stoves is in need 
of repairs. An ordinary mortal may assume that a man with the 
rank of Governor-General may be trusted to expend a few shillings 
conscientiously, and that consequently his Excellency will at once 
order the repairs to be made and the payment to be put down among 
the petty expenses. To the bureaucratic mind the case appears in a 
very different light. All possible contingencies must be carefully 
provided for. As a Governor-General may possibly be possessed with 
a mania for making useless alterations, the necessity of the repairs 
ought to be verified; and as wisdom and honesty are more likely to 
reside in an assembly than in an individual, it is well to intrust the 
verification to a council. A council of three or four members accord¬ 
ingly certifies that the repairs are necessary. This is pretty strong 
authority, but it is not enough. Councils are composed of mere human 


THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION. 


247 


beings, liable to error and subject to be intimidated by the Governor- 
General. It is prudent, therefore, to demand that the decision of the 
council be confirmed by the Procureur, who is directly subordinated 
to the Minister of Justice. When this double confirmation has been 
obtained, an architect examines the stove and makes an estimate. 
But it would be dangerous to give carte blanche to an architect, and 
therefore the estimate has to be confirmed, first by the aforesaid 
council and afterwards by the Procureur. When all these formalities 

which require sixteen days and ten sheets of paper—have been duly 
observed, his Excellency is informed that the contemplated repairs 
will cost two roubles and forty kopecks, or about one dollar and twenty- 
five cents of our money. Even here the formalities do not stop, for 
the Government must have the assurance that the architect who made 
the estimate and superintended the repairs has not been guilty of 
negligence. A second architect is therefore sent to examine the work, 
and his report, like the estimate, requires to be confirmed by the 
council and the Procureur. The whole correspondence lasts thirty 
days, and requires no less than thirty sheets of paper! Had the 
person who desired the repairs been not a Governor-General but an 
ordinary mortal it is impossible to say how long the procedure might 
have lasted. 

It might naturally be supposed that this circuitous and complicated 
method, with its registers, ledgers, and minutes of proceeding, must at 
least prevent pilfering; but this conclusion has been emphatically 
belied by experience. Every new ingenious device had merely the 
effect of producing a still more ingenious means of avoiding it. The 
system did not restrain those who wished to pilfer, and it had a dele¬ 
terious effect on honest officials, by making them feel that the Govern¬ 
ment reposed no confidence in them. Besides this, it produced among 
all officials, honest and dishonest alike, the habit of systematic 
falsification. As it was impossible for even the most pedantic of men 
—and pedantry, be it remarked, is a rare quality among Russians— 
to fulfill conscientiously all the prescribed formalities, it became 
customary to observe the forms merely on paper. Officials certified 
facts which they never dreamed of examining, and secretaries gravely 
w r rote the minutes of meetings that had never been held! Thus, in the 
case above cited, the repairs were in reality begun and ended long 
before the architect was officially authorized to begin the work. 


248 


THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION. 


The comedy was nevertheless gravely played out to the end, so that 
any one afterwards revising the documents would have found that 
everything had been done in perfect order. 

Perhaps the most ingenious means for preventing administrative 
abuses was devised by the Emperor Nicholas. Fully aware that he 
was regularly and systematically deceived by the ordinary officials, he 
formed a body of well-paid officers, called the “ Gendarmerie,” who 
were scattered over the country, and ordered to report directly to his 
Majesty whatever seemed to them worthy of attention. Bureaucratic 
minds considered this an admirable expedient; and the Czar confidently 
expected that he would, by means of these official observers who had 
no interest in concealing the truth, be able to know 7 everything, and 
to correct all official abuses. In reality the institution produced a few 
good results, and in some respects had a very pernicious influence. 
Though picked men and provided with good salaries, these officers 
were all more or less permeated with the prevailing spirit. They 
could not but feel that they were regarded as spies and informers—a 
humiliating conviction, little calculated to develop that feeling of 
self-respect which is the main foundation of uprightness—and that all 
their efforts could do but little good. They were, in fact, in pretty 
much the same position as Peter’s Procurator-General, and, with that 
bonhomie which is a prominent trait of the Russian character, they 
disliked ruining individuals who were no worse than the majority of 
their fellows. Besides this, according to the received code of official 
morality, insubordination was a more heinous sin than dishonesty, and 
political offences were regarded as the blackest of all. The Gendar¬ 
merie shut their eyes, therefore, to the prevailing abuses, which were 
believed to be incurable, and directed their attention to real or 
imaginary political delinquencies. Oppression and extortion remained 
unnoticed, wffiilst an incautious word or a foolish joke at the expense 
of the Government was too often magnified into an act of high treason. 

This force still exists, and has at least one representative in every 
important town. It serves as a kind of supplement to the ordinary 
police, and is generally employed in all matters in which secrecy is 
required. Unfortunately it is not bound by those legal restrictions 
wffiich protect the public against the arbitrary will of the ordinary 
authorities. It has a vaguely-defined roving commission, to watch 
and arrest all persons who seem to it any way dangerous or suspicious; 






THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION. 


249 



Lieutenant T. Doubassoff, of the Russian Navy. 


and it may keep such in confinement for an indefinite time, o\ remove 
them to some distant and inhospitable part of the Empire, without 
making them undergo a regular trial. It is, in short, the ordinary 
instrument for punishing political dreamers, suppressing secret societies, 
counteracting political agitations, and in general executing the extra- 
legal orders of the Government. 

Neither the gendarmerie nor the ingenious formal procedure ma¬ 
terially diminished the venality, dishonesty, and other vices of the 
officials. The attempt to remedy these evils by means of decentraliza¬ 
tion and popular election proved equally unsuccessful. From the 
time of Catherine II. down to the commencement of the present reign 
ihe rural police and the judges of each province and district were 



250 


THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION. 


elected by the local inhabitants, and the history of these institutions, 
which were, if possible, worse than the Imperial administration, forms 
an ugly, inconvenient episode for those who believe in the magical 
efficacy of local self-government under all circumstances. 

The only effectual remedy for administrative abuses lies in placing 
the administration under public control. This has been abundantly 
proved in Russia. All the efforts of the Czars during many genera¬ 
tions to check the evil by means of ingenious bureaucratic devices 
proved utterly fruitless. Even the iron will and gigantic energy of 
Nicholas were insufficient for the task. But when, after the Crimean 
War, there was a great moral awakening and the Czar called the 
people to his assistance, the stubborn, deep-rooted evils immediately 
disappeared. For a time venality and extortion were unknown, and 
since that period they have never been able to regain their old force. 

At the present moment it cannot be said that the administration is 
immaculate, but it is incomparably purer than at any former period 
of its history. Though public opinion is no longer so powerful as it 
was a few years ago, it is still strong enough to repress many mal¬ 
practices which in the time of Nicholas and his predecessors were too 
frequent to attract attention. 

















THE ZEMSTVO , OR LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 


251 


CHAPTER XIV. 

THE ZEMSTVO, OR LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 

The Zemstvo is a kind of local government which supplements the 
action of the rural communes, and takes cognizance of those higher 
public wants which individual communes cannot possibly satisfy. Its 
principal duties are to keep the roads and bridges in proper repair, to 
provide means of conveyance for the rural police and other officials, to 
elect the justices of the peace, to look after primary education and 
sanitary affairs, to watch the state of the crops and take measures 
against approaching famine, and in short to undertake, within certain 
clearly-defined limits, whatever seems likely to increase the material 
and moral well-being of the population. It consists of an assembly 
of deputies which meets at least once a year, and of a permanent 
executive bureau elected by the assembly from among its members. 
Once every three years the deputies are elected in certain fixed pro¬ 
portions by the landed proprietors, the rural communes, and the 
municipal corporations. Every province and each of the districts into 
which the province is subdivided has such an assembly and such a 
bureau. 

The visitor to a District Assembly will find thirty or forty men 
seated around a long table covered with green cloth. Before each 
member lie sheets of paper for the purpose of taking notes, and before 
the president stands a small hand-bell, which he rings vigorously at 
the commencement of the proceedings and on all occasions when he 
wishes to obtain silence. To the right and left of the president sit the 
members of the executive bureau, armed with piles of written and 
printed documents, from which they read long and tedious extracts, 
till the majority of the audience take to yawning, and one or two of 
the members perhaps go to sleep. At the close of each of these 
reports the president rings his bell—presumably for the purpose of 
awakening the sleepers—and inquires whether any one has remarks to 
make on what has just been read. Generally some one has remarks 
to make, and not unfrequently a discussion ensues. When any decided 
difference of opinion appears, a vote is taken by handing around a 


252 


THE ZEMSTVO , OR LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 


sheet of paper, or by the simpler method of requesting the Ayes to 
stand up and the Noes to sit still. 

What is most surprising in such an assembly is, that it is composed 
partly of nobles and partly of peasants—the latter being decidedly in 
the majority—and that no trace of antagonism seems to exist between 
the two classes. Landed proprietors and their former serfs evidently 
meet for the moment on a footing of equality. The discussions are 
always carried on by the nobles, but occasionally peasant members 
rise to speak, and their remarks, always clear, practical, and to the 
point, are invariably listened to with respectful attention by all 
present. Instead of that violent antagonism which might be expected 
considering the constitution of the assembly, there is a great deal too 
much unanimity—a fact indicating plainly that the majority of the 
members do not take a very deep interest in the matters presented to 
them. 

In general character and mode of procedure the Assembly for the 
Province resembles closely the District Assembly. Its chief peculiari¬ 
ties are that its members are chosen, not by the primary electors, but 
by the assemblies of the ten Districts which compose the Province, 
and that it takes cognizance merely of those matters which concern 
more than one District. Besides this, the peasant deputies are very few 
in number, although, according to the law, the peasant members of 
the District Assemblies are eligible, like those of the other classes. 
The explanation is that the District Assemblies choose their most 
active members to represent them in the Provincial Assemblies, and 
consequently the choice generally falls on landed proprietors. To this 
arrangement the peasants make no objection, for attendance at the 
Provincial Assemblies demands a considerable pecuniary outlay, and 
payment to the deputies is expressly prohibited by law. 

To give the reader an idea of the elements composing this assembly, 
let us introduce him to a few of the members. A considerable section 
of them may be described in a single sentence. They are common¬ 
place men, who have spent part of their youth in the public service as 
officers in the army, or officials in the civil administration, and have 
since retired to their estates, where they gain a modest competence by 
farming. Some of them add to their agricultural revenues by acting 
as justices of the peace. A few may be described more particularly. 

For instance, that fine-looking old general in uniform, with the St 


A Travelling Tartar Family, 


THE ZEMSTVO , OR LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 


25a 


































































254 


THE ZEMSTVO , OR LOCAL ADMINLSTRATION. 


George’s Cross at his button-hole—an order given only for bravery in 
the field, is a grandson of one of Russia’s greatest men. He has filled 
high posts in the administration without ever tarnishing his name by 
a dishonest or dishonorable action, and has spent a great part of his 
life at Court without ceasing to be frank, generous, and truthful. 
Though he has no intimate knowledge of current affairs, and some¬ 
times gives way a little to drowsiness, his sympathies in disputed points 
are always on the right side, and when he gets to his feet he always 
speaks in a clear, soldier-like fashion. 

The tall gaunt man, somewhat over middle age, who sits near him, 
has an historical name, but he cherishes above all things personal 
independence, and has consequently always kept aloof from the Ad¬ 
ministration and the Court. The leisure thus acquired he has devoted 
to study, and he has produced several very valuable works on political 
and social scmnce. An enthusiastic but at the same time cool-headed 
abolitionist at the time of the Emancipation, he has since constantly 
striven to ameliorate the condition of the peasantry by advocating the 
spread of primary education, the establishment of rural credit associa¬ 
tions in the villages, the preservation of the communal institutions, 
and numerous important reforms in the financial system. In the As¬ 
sembly he speaks frequently, and always commands attention; and in 
all important committees he is a leading member. His neighbor is 
one of the most able and energetic members of the assembly. He is 
president of the executive bureau in one of the Districts, where he has 
founded many primary schools, and created several rural credit asso¬ 
ciations. 

To the right and left of the president—who is Marshal of Noblesse 
for the province—sit the members of the bureau. The gentleman who 
reads the long reports is “the prime minister,” who began life as a 
cavalry officer, and after a few years of military service retired to his 
estate; he is an intelligent, able administrator, and a man of literary 
culture. His colleague, who assists him in reading the reports, is a 
merchant, and director of the municipal bank. His neighbor is also 
a merchant, and in some respects the most remarkable man in the 
room. Though born a serf, he is already an important personage in 
the Russian commercial world. 

All these men belong to what may be called the party of progress, 
which anxiously supports all proposals recognized as “liberal,” and 


THE ZEMSTVO , OR LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 255 

especially all measures likely to improve the condition of the peasan¬ 
try. Their chief opponent is that little man with close-cropped, 
bullet-shaped head and small piercing eyes, who may be called the 
leader of the opposition. That gentleman opposes many of the pro¬ 
posed schemes, on the ground that the province is already overtaxed, 
and that the expenditure ought therefore to be reduced to the smallest 
possible figure. In the District Assembly he preaches this doctrine 
with considerable success, for there the peasantry form the majority, 
and he knows how to use that terse, homely language, interspersed 
with proverbs, which has far more influence on the rustic mind than 
scientific principles and logical reasoning; but here, in the Provincial 
Assembly, his following composes only a respectable minority, and he 
confines himself to a policy of obstruction. 

The reader may perhaps imagine that the Zemstvo has, like the 
rural Commune, grown up slowly in the course of centuries, and is in 
its present form a remnant of ancient liberties, which has successfully 
resisted the centralizing tendencies of the autocratic power. In reality 
it is nothing of the sort. It is a modern institution, created by the 
autocratic power about ten years ago, and represents the most recent 
attempt to lighten the duties and correct the abuses of the Imperial 
administration by means of local self-government. 

How came it, then, it may be asked, that the autocratic power, 
which is believed to have a superstitious dread of popular institutions, 
voluntarily created in each District and in each Province an organiza¬ 
tion so extremely democratic? With the view of explaining this 
curious anomaly we must endeavor to initiate the reader into the 
mysteries of Russian bureaucratic law-making. 

When a minister considers that some institution belonging to his 
branch of the service requires to be reformed, he presents to the 
Emperor a formal explanatory report on the subject. If his Majesty 
adopts the suggestion he orders a commission to be appointed for the 
purpose of considering the question and forming a definite project. 
The commission meets, and sets to work in what seems a very thorough 
way. It first studies the history of the institution in Russia from^ 
the earliest times downwards—or rather it listens to an essay on the 
subject, specially prepared for the occasion by some official who has a 
taste for historical studies, and can write a pleasant style. The next 
step—to use a phrase which often occurs in the minutes of such com- 


256 THE ZEMSTVO , OR LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 

missions—consists in “ shedding the light of science on the question.” 
This important operation consists in preparing a memorial, containing 
the history of similar institutions in foreign countries, and an elaborate 
exposition of numerous theories held by French and German philoso¬ 
phical jurists. In these memorials it is often considered necessary to 
include every European country except Turkey, and sometimes the 
small German states and principal Swiss cantons are treated sepa¬ 
rately. 

To illustrate the character of these wonderful productions, let us, 
from a pile of such papers, take one almost at random. It is a 
memorial relating to a proposed reform of benevolent institutions. 
First, we find a philosophical disquisition on benevolence in general; 
next, some remarks on the Talmud and the Koran; then a reference 
to the treatment of paupers in Athens after the Peloponnesian War, 
and in Rome under the emperors; then some vague observations on 
the Middle Ages, with a quotation evidently intended to be Latin; 
lastly, comes an account of the poor-laws of modern times, in which 
we meet with “the Anglo-Saxon domination,” KiDg Egbert, King 
Ethelrcd; “a remarkable book of Icelandic laws, called Hragas;” 
Sweden and Norway, France, Holland, Belgium, Prussia, and nearly 
all the minor German states. The most wonderful thing is that all 
this mass of historical information, extending from the Talmud to the 
most recent legislation, is compressed into twenty-one octavo pages! 
The theoretical part of the memorial is equally rich. Many respected 
names from the literature of Europe are forcibly dragged in; and the 
general conclusion drawn from this mass of raw, undigested materials 
is believed to be “ the latest results of science.” 

When the quintessence of human wisdom and experience has thus 
been extracted, the commission considers how the valuable product 
may be applied to Russia, so as to harmonize with the existing general 
conditions and local peculiarities. For a man of practical mind this 
is, of course, the most interesting and most important part of the 
operation, but from Russian legislators it receives comparatively little 
attention. Vague general phrases, founded on a priori reasoning 
rather than on observation, together with a few statistical tables— 
which the cautious investigator should avoid as he would an ambus¬ 
cade—are too often all that is to be found. 

From the commission the project passes to the Council of State, 


View of Yassy (Moldavia). 



17 





































258 


THE ZEMSTVO , OR LOCAL ADMLNISTRA TLON. 


where it is examined, criticised, and perhaps modified, but it is not 
likely to be thereby much improved, for the members of the council 
are merely former members of commissions, hardened by a few addi¬ 
tional years of official routine. The Council is, in fact, an assembly 
of officials who know little of the practical, everyday wants of the 
unofficial classes. No merchant, manufacturer, or farmer ever enters 
its sacred precincts, so that its bureaucratic serenity is never disturbed 
by practical objections. 

The commission appointed in 1859 for the purpose of “conferring 
more unity and independence on the local economic administration” 
proceeded in a less extravagant way than the two commissions just 
referred to. Though some remarks were made on the earliest period 
of Russian history, there was no reference to the Talmud and the 
Koran, and no attempt to define Athenian local administration after 
the Peloponnesian War. But the spirit which reigned in the com¬ 
mission was essentially bureaucratic, and the method < f procedure was 
that which we have described. This accounts for many peculiarities 
of the new institutions. 

The law which the commission elaborated was published in January, 
1864, and produced inordinate expectations. At that time a large 
section of the Russian educated classes had a simple, convenient 
criterion for institutions of all kinds. They assumed as a self-evident 
axiom that the excellence of an institution must always be in pro¬ 
portion to its “liberal” and democratic character. The question as to 
how far it might be appropriate to the existing conditions and to the 
character of the people, and as to whether it might not, though 
admirable in itself, be too expensive for the work to be performed, 
was little thought of. Any organization which rested on “ the elective 
principle,” and provided an arena for free public discussion, was sure 
to be well received, and these conditions were fulfilled by the Zemstvo. 

The expectations excited were of various kinds. People who 
thought more of political than economic progress saw in the new 
institutions the basis of boundless popular liberty, in which the peasant 
would be on a level with the richest landed proprietors. People who 
were accustomed to think of social rather than political progress 
expected that the Zemstvo would soon provide the country with good 
roads, safe bridges, numerous village schools, well-appointed hospitals, 
and all the other requisites of civilization. Agriculture would be 


THE ZEMSTVO, OR LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 259 

improved, trade and industry developed, and the condition of the 
peasantry ameliorated. The listless apathy of provincial life and the 
hereditary indifference to local public affairs were now, it was thought, 
about to be dispelled; and in view of this change patriotic mothers 
took their children to the assemblies in order to accustom them from 
their early years to take an interest in the public welfare. 

It is scarcely necessary to say that these inordinate expectations 
have not been realized. The Government had no intention of con¬ 
ferring on the new institutions any political significance, and very 
soon showed that it would not allow the assemblies to exert even a 
moral pressure by means of petitions and political agitation. As soon 
as the Zemstvo of St. Petersburg gave evidence of a desire to play a 
political part, the assembly was at once closed by Imperial command, 
and several of the leading members were banished for a time from the 
capital. 

Even in its proper sphere, as defined by law, the Zemstvo has not 
accomplished what was expected of it. The country has not been 
covered with a network of macadamized roads, and the bridges are by 
no means as safe as could be desired there are still few village schools, 
and infirmaries are rarely to be met with. Little or nothing has been 
done for the development of trade or manufactures; and the villages 
remain very much what they were under the old administration. 
Meanwhile the local rates have been rising with alarming rapidity; 
and many people draw from all this the conclusion that the Zemstvo 
is a worthless institution which has increased the taxation without 
conferring any corresponding benefit on the country. 

If we take as our criterion in judging the institution the exaggerated 
expectations at first entertained, we may feel inclined to agree with 
this conclusion, but this is merely tantamount to saying that the 
Zemstvo has performed no miracles. Russia is much poorer and 
much less densely populated than the more advanced nations which 
she takes as her model. To suppose that she could at once create for 
herself by means of an administrative reform all the conveniences 
which those more advanced nations enjoy, was as absurd as it would 
be to imagine that a poor man can at once construct a magnificent 
palace because he has received from a wealthy neighbor the necessary 
architectural plans. Not only years but generations must pass before 
Russia can assume the appearance of Germany, France, or England. 


260 


THE ZEMSTVO , OR LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 


The metamorphosis may be accelerated or retarded by good govern¬ 
ment, but it could not be effected at once, even if the combined 
wisdom of all the philosophers and statesmen in Europe were employed 
in legislating for the purpose. 

The Zemstvo has, however, done much more than the majority of 
its critics suppose. In the first place, it fulfills tolerably well its ordi¬ 
nary everyday duties, and is very little tainted with peculation and 
jobbery. Secondly, it has greatly improved the condition of the 
hospitals, asylums, and other benevolent institutions committed to its 
charge; and it has done much, considering the limited means at its dis¬ 
posal, for the spread of popular education by founding village schools 
and a few seminaries for the preparation of schoolmasters. In the 
third place, the Zemstvo has created a new and more equitable system 
of rating, by which the landed proprietors and owmers of houses are 
made to bear their share of the public burdens. Last, and not least, 
it has created a system of mutual fire insurance for the villagers—a 
most valuable institution in a country like Russia, where the great 
majority of the peasants live in wooden houses, and fires are extremely 
frequent. 

Notwithstanding these important results, it must be confessed that 
the Zemstvo is at present in a somewhat critical state. It no longer 
enjoys public confidence, and already shows unmistakable symptoms 
of exhaustion. This fact is recognized by all; and the best authori¬ 
ties are pretty nearly unanimous regarding the cause of the phe¬ 
nomenon. The Government, they say, conceived in a moment of 
enthusiasm the project of conferring local self-government on the 
people, but it afterwards became frightened, and put heavy fetters on 
the young institution. The assemblies were obliged to accept as presi¬ 
dents the marshals of noblesse. A limit was placed to the taxation of 
trade and industry, and consequently the mercantile class lost all 
interest in the proceedings. The publicity which was at first granted 
to the assemblies was afterwards diminished by giving to the governors 
of provinces the right to prevent the publication of the minutes and 
other documents. These restrictions, it is said, have rendered all free, 
vigorous action impossible. 

We have here an explanation which is thoroughly in accordance 
with Russian conceptions and habits of thought. When anything goes 
wrong in Russia there is always a tendency to assume that the Gov- 


THE ZEMSTVO , OR LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 


261 



Ri/sstan Peasants. 
















































































































262 


THE ZEMSTVO, OR LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 


ernment is to blame, and St. Petersburg is expected to supply the 
remedy. As the Government attempts to control everything, the 
tendency is perfectly natural, but the explanation to which it gives rise 
is not wholly satisfactory with regard to the Zemstvo. If it is unde¬ 
niable that considerable restrictions have been placed on its freedom of 
action, it is equally undeniable that an institution which succumbs so 
easily must have very little true vitality in it. In our opinion the 
cause of that exhaustion and languor which the Zemstvo at present 
displays lies much deeper, and must be sought in one of the essential 
peculiarities of Russian national life. The political history of Russia 
during the last two centuries may be briefly described as a series of 
revolutions effected peaceably by the autocratic power. Each young 
energetic sovereign has attempted to inaugurate a new epoch by 
thoroughly remodeling the administration according to the most ap¬ 
proved foreign political philosophy of the time. Institutions have not 
been allowed to grow spontaneously out of popular wants, but have 
been invented by bureaucratic theorists to satisfy wants of which the 
people were still unconscious. The administrative machine has there¬ 
fore derived little or*no motive force from the people, and has always 
been kept in motion by the unaided energy of the central Govern¬ 
ment. Under these circumstances it is not surprising that the repeated 
attempts of the Government to lighten the burdens of centralized 
administration by creating organs of local self-government should have 
been eminently unsuccessful. 

The Zemstvo, it is true, offered better chances of success than any 
of its predecessors. A large portion of the nobles had become alive to 
the necessity of improving the administration, and the popular interest 
in public affairs was much greater than at any former period. TIence 
there was at first a period of enthusiasm, during which great prepara¬ 
tions were made for future activity, and not a little was actually 
effected. The institution had all the charm of novelty, and the mem¬ 
bers felt that the eyes of the public were upon them. For a time all 
went well, and the Zemstvo was so well pleased with its own activity 
that the satirical journals compared it to Narcissus admiring his image 
reflected in the pool. But when the charm of novelty had passed and 
the public turned its attention to other matters, the spasmodic energy 
evaporated, and many of the most active members looked about for 
more lucrative employment. Such employment was easily found, for 


THE ZEMSTVO , OR LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 


2C3 


at that time there was an unusual demand for able,energetic, educated 
men. Several branches of the civil service were being reorganized, 
and railways, banks, and joint-stock companies were being rapidly 
multiplied. Vi ith these the Zemstvo had great difficulty in competing. 
It could not, like the Imperial service, offer pensions, decorations, and 
prospects ol promotion, nor could it pay such large salaries as the 
commercial and industrial enterprises. In consequence of all this, the 
qualit}'- of the executive bureaus deteriorated at the same time as the 
public interest in the institution diminished. 

It is right to point out this fact, because it has had some influence 
in producing that languor from which the Zemstvo is at present 
suffering. It is not, however, the chief cause. The languor has 
appeared among the deputies and the public quite as much as in the 
executive committees. The chief cause lies in the fact that very few 
people feel keenly the want of those things which the Zemstvo is 
intended to supply. Take, for instance, a matter of first necessity. 
That good roads are necessary for the development of the national 
resources is a principle well known to every Russian who has any pre¬ 
tensions to being educated, but very few of the enlightened deputies 
who occasionally enounce the principle feel the necessity of having 
good roads in their own district in the same sense as they feel the 
necessity of having opportunities for card-playing. The one is a theo¬ 
retical, the other a practical want. When the landed proprietors learn 
to keep accounts accurate^, and discover that a certain amount of 
money spent on roads will be more than compensated for by the 
diminution in the cost of transport, then, and not till then, will the 
road committees become vigorous institutions. The same remark may 
be applied to all the other branches of the local self-government. 

In order to illustrate the essentially unpractical character of the 
institution, we cannot do better than describe briefly an incident 
which once occurred in a District Assembly. When the subject of 
primary schools came before the meeting, an influential member 
started up, and proposed that an obligatory system of education 
should be at once introduced throughout the whole District. Strange 
to say, the motion was very nearly carried, though all the members 
present knew—or at least might have known if they had taken the 
trouble to inquire—that the actual number of schools would have to 
be multiplied twenty-fold, and that the local rates were already very 




264 THE ZEMSTVO , OR LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 

heavy. To preserve his reputation for liberalism, the honorable mem-' 
ber further proposed that, though the system should be obligatory, no 
fines, punishments, or other means of compulsion should be employed. , 
How a system could be obligatory without using some means of com¬ 
pulsion, he did not condescend to explain. To get out of this difficulty 
one of his supporters suggested that peasants who did not send their 
children to school should be excluded from serving as office-bearers in 
the Communes; but this proposition merely created a laugh, for many 
deputies knew that the peasants would regard this supposed punish¬ 
ment as a valuable privilege. And whilst this discussion about the 
necessity of introducing an ideal system of obligatory education was 
being carried on, the street before the windows of the room was covered 
with a stratum of mud nearly two feet in depth! The other streets 
were in a similar condition; and a large number of the members 
always arrived late, because it was almost impossible to come on foot, 
and there was only one public conveyance in the town. Many mem¬ 
bers had, fortunately, their private conveyances, but even in these 
locomotion was by no means easy. One day, in the principal thor¬ 
oughfare, a member had his tarantass overturned, and he himself was 
thrown into the mud! 

We might describe many minor defects of the Zemstvo in its present 
condition, but it would be unfair to criticise severely a young institu¬ 
tion which is animated with good intentions, and errs chiefly from 
inexperience. With all its defects and errors it is infinitely better 
than the institutions which it replaced. If we compare it with 
previous attempts to create local self-government, we must admit that 
the Russians have made great progress in their political education. 
What its future may be we do not venture to predict. We are 
inclined to believe that it will outlive its present state of lethargy, 
and will gradually acquire new, healthy vitality, as the people come 
to feel more and more the need of those things which it is intended to 
supply. But, on the other hand, it may possibly die of inanition, or 
be swept away by some new explosion of reforming enthusiasm before 
it has had time to strike deep root. Some one has truly said that 
Time shows little respect to works "which have dispensed with its 
assistance; and nowhere is the saying more frequently exemplified 
than in Russia, where institutions shoot up like Jonah’s gourd, and 
perish as rapidly, without leaving a trace behind them. 


Halt of a Russian Military 


THE ZEMSTVO, OR LOCAL ADMINISTRATION. 


265 


































































































































































































































































266 


ORIGIN OF THE TURNS. 


CHAPTER XV. 

ORIGIN OF THE TURKS. 

According to the historian Abou’lgazi Bahdur-Khan, the Turks 
are descended from Turk, the eldest son of Japhet, and of the same 
primitive stock as the Tartars and Mongols. They were one of the 
five nomadic races which comprised the Turanian family of men. 
Some of the numerous tribes which formed this race have been erro¬ 
neously called Tartars; but the latter people were more nearly allied 
to the Mongolians than the Turks. 

From the land of Tura, the Turkish tribes spread out as far as the 
Lena on the north (where they are still represented by the Yakuts), 
to the Black Sea, to the Oxus, beyond the Caspian, and to Asia 
Minor. 

They were known to the Chinese by the name of Hiong-nu and also 
Tu-kiu, from which the name Turk is supposed to be derived. These 
Hiong-nu formed an empire, 206 b.c., west of China; and after nearly 
three hundred years of warfare they were defeated by the Chinese, and 
split up into a Northern and Southern empire. 

The Southerns afterwards united with the Chinese, and drove their 
Northern cousins away from their lands amongst the Altai mountains; 
and this is supposed to have been the cause of the first inroad of the 
Turks upon Europe, and they probably represent the ancestors of the 
Huns and Avars. 

In the beginning of the third century the Mongols and Tungusians 
attacked the Southern Turks, and, driving them from their territories, 
created the second Western migration. These various tribes are now 
to be found in the Turcomans east and w r est of the Caspian; in the 
Usbeks of Bokhara, who are partly Finn; in the Nogai, north of the 
Black Sea and west of the Caspian; the Bazianes and the Kumiiks of 
the Caucasus; the so-called Tartars of Siberia; the Bashkirs of Russia, 
who are partly Mongol; the Kirghis of Kashgir; the Youruks and 
Osmanlis of Asia Minor and Turkey in Europe. 

After the dispersion of the Southern Hiong-nu, some of the Turkish 
tribes became slaves to the great khan of the Geougen, and in the 


ORIGIN OF THE TURKS. 


2C7 



golden mountains of Altai were employed as forgers of iro* and 
makers of weapons of war It is from these men that the Turks of 
Europe can claim their origin. From being makers of arms, they 
soon learned to use them with such terrible effect that, under their first 
leader, Bertezema, they cast off the yoke which pressed upon them, 
and, scattering their oppressors to the winds, established their royal 
camp in the golden mountains. 

The advantages of their nomadic life are well depicted in the advice 
given by a counselor to one of the successors of Bertezema, urging 
him not to invade China. “The Turks,” he said, “are not equal in 
number to one hundredth part of the inhabitants of China. If we 
balance their power and elude their armies, it is because we wander 
without any fixed habitations, in the exercise of war and hunting. 
Are we strong? We advance and conquer. Are we feeble? We 
retire and are concealed. Should the Turks confine themselves within 
the walls of cities, the loss of a battle would be the destruction of 
their empire. The ‘bonzes’ preach only patience, humility, and the 
renunciation of the world. Such, 0 King! is not the religion of 
heroes.” 

This breathes the genuine spirit of the Turanian race, and well 
exemplifies the roving character of the Turkish Court. 





26-? 


ORIGIN OF THE TURKS. 


Their religion, prior to their conversion to Mohammedanism, was a 
mixture of the doctrines of Zoroaster and the traditions of their ances¬ 
tors, They had their priests, and sung rude hymns in worship of the 
air, fire, water, and the earth, but they sacrificed to the supreme deity. 
As might be expected, their laws were unwritten, and'of a general 
character, the minor details being probably laid down by the order of 
heads of tribes. Yet there were general principles which they all 
acknowledged, and which were rigorously and impartially executed. 
Theft was punished by a tenfold restitution; adultery, treason and 
murder, with death. No chastisement was considered too severe for 
the crime of cowardice. We have here all the elements of a stern 
justice, and these main principles of morality, added to the free and 
independent life of warrior shepherds, were the cause of that lofty and 
chivalrous character which always attached to the Turks as a nation. 

The rich grazings of their unbounded pasture-lands gave an almost 
unlimited supply of horses, and one of their armies alone numbered 
four hundred thousand cavalry. This gives some idea of the extraor¬ 
dinary power of these tribes in former days, and of the rapidity with 
which they could sweep over the laud as conquerors. It was, in fact, a 
nomad kingdom. Their great rivals were the Persians—rivals in arms 
and rivals in race and customs, and Tura and Arya here stood face 
to face. 

The wandering life of the Turks was fitted for reflection rather than 
study, and we accordingly find them mostly ignorant of science, while 
the sedentary habits of the Persians placed them among the first 
nations of the world for scientific learning. 

The Turkish Empire, founded by Bertezema, increased under his 
successors until it burst by over-expansion, and was divided into three 
kingdoms ; and it is with one of these, which held its sway in the 
Golden Mountains of Altai, that we have now to deal. The Turanian 
and Aryan streams of emigration, with all their attendant tribes, were 
now eddying among each other in Scythia and the Caucasus, and we 
are told by Pliny that in the market of Dioscurias no less than one 
hundred and thirty languages were spoken. 

This was literally a golden age, for that precious metal seemed to 
form the material for all the furniture of the great Turk Emperor in 
his nomad court of the Altai Mountains;, and we hear of the great 
Disabul sitting in a chariot of gold, supported by golden peacocks, for 


ORIGIN OF 1 HE TURKS. 


2C9 


which a horse was always kept ready harnessed, in order that, if his 
Royal Highness wishes to move, he might not have the trouble of 
walking. 

The rich mines of Trebizond and the Caucasus furnished the pre¬ 
cious metal, which, with the rich silks of China, added to the luxury 
of the age. 

In the reign of Chosroes, King of Persia, the Turks and the Byzan¬ 
tine Empire w T ere united against th :r common enemy, but the more 
civilized Romans merely made use of the Turks as a temporary and 
useful weapon. The contempt in which the Turks held the Byzantine 
intrigue was manifested by the successor to Disabul, when in the sixth 
century the Emperor Tiberius, who proposed an invasion of Persia, 
sent ambassadors to salute him. 

With indignant anger the haughty monarch turned to them and 
said, “You see my ten fingers? You Romans speak with as many 
tongues; but they are the tongues of deceit and perjury. To me you 
hold one language, to my subjects another, and the nations are suc¬ 
cessively deluded by your perfidious eloquence; you precipitate your 
allies into war and danger; you enjoy your labors; and you neglect 
your benefactors. Hasten your return, and inform your master that a 
Turk is incapable of uttering or forgiving falsehood, and that he shall 
speedily meet the punishment he deserves.” 

In the middle of the seventh century the prophet Mohammed ap¬ 
peared, and, with his successors, spread his religion with lightning 
rapidity north, south, east and west, until it rivaled Christianity in its 
converts, and included many of the Turkish tribes in the number. 

There were several dynasties of Mohammedan Turks before the 
Ottomans arose, and there are to this day vast nations of Turks, some 
of them mere savages, who have never embraced Mohammedanism. 
It must always be borne in mind that all Mohammedans are not Turks, 
and that all Turks are not Ottomans. The Turks with whom we have 
to do are those Turks who learned the Mohammedan religion at the 
hands of the Saracens, and specially with that body of them which 
made their way into Europe and founded the Ottoman dominion there. 
The Turks and Saracens first came to have dealings with one another 
at the moment when the Saracen dominion which the Turks were to 
supplant was at the height of its power. This was in the year 710, 
seventy-eight years after the death of Mohammed. It was in that year 




270 


ORIGIN OF THE 'TURKS . 


that the Saracens passed from Africa into Spain, and made the begin¬ 
ning their greatest conquest in Europe. In the same year they first : 
crossed the Oxus, and began to make converts and subjects among i 
those Turks who lived between that great river and the Jaxartes. In 
the next year the conquest of Sind gave the Saracen dominion the 
greatest extent that it ever had. This last possession however, was 
not long kept, and the great Mohammedan conquests in India, 
conquests with which we have now no concern, did not begin till long 
afterwards. But it is worth noticing that it was almost at the same 
moment that the Mohammedan religion and the Mohammedan pow r er 
made their way into India, into Western Europe, and into the land 
which was then the land of the Turks. The Caliph or successor of 
the Prophet, the temporal and spiritual chief of all who profess the 
Mohammedan creed, now ruled over lands washed by the Atlantic 
and over lands washed by the Indian Ocean. The word which w r ent 
forth from his palace at Damascus was obeyed on the Indus, on the 
Jaxartes, and on the Tagus. 

While the whole Mohammedan world was thus under one ruler, the 
Christian nations were divided among many rulers. But there were 
tw T o Christian pow r ers which stood out above all others. The Roman 
Empire still had its seat at Constantinople, and still held, though 
often in detached pieces, the greater part of the European coast of the 
Mediterranean Sea. The Saracens had lopped away Syria, Egypt, 
and Africa; the Slaves had pressed into the southeastern peninsula; 
the Bulgarians had settled south of the Danube, and the Lombards 
had conquered the greater part of Italy. Still both the Old and the 
New Rome obeyed the one Roman Emperor, and the Roman Empire 
was still the first of Christian powers, and still kept the chief rule of 
the Mediterranean. The other great Christian power w 7 as that of the 
Franks in Germany and Gaul, the pow r er which was, at the end of the 
century, to grow into a new Western Empire with its seat at the Old 
Rome. Thus the Roman power still went on, only cut slmrt and 
modified in various ways by the coming in of the Teutons in the West 
and of the Slaves in the East. And herein comes a very instructive 
parallel. For, as soon as the Saracens began to conquer and convert 
the Turks, the Turks begin to play a part in the history of the Saracen 
dominion in Asia which is much like the part which was played in 
Europe by the Teutons towards the Western Roman Empire, and by 


Constantinople. 


N 


ORIGIN OF TIIE TURKS. 


271 







































































































































































































































































































































































































































272 


ORIGIN OF THE TURKS. 


the Slaves towards the Eastern. The Turks appear under the Caliphs 
as slaves, as subjects, as mercenaries, as practical masters, as avowed 
sovereigns, and lastly, in the case of the Ottomans, as themselves 
claiming the powers of the Caliphate. The dominions of the Caliphs 
gradually broke up into various states, which were ruled for the most 
part by Turkish princes who left a merely nominal superiority to the 
Caliph. It is not our business here to go through all of them. But 
one must be mentioned, that out of which the Ottoman dynasty arose. 
This was the Turkish dynasty of the house of Seljuk, which was the 
greatest power in Asia in the eleventh century. Their early princes, 
Togrul Beg, Alp Arslan, and Malek Shah, were not only great con¬ 
querors, but great rulers after the Eastern pattern. They had many 
of the virtues which are commonly found in the founders of dynasties 
and their immediate successors. The Seljuk Turks pressed their 
conquests to the West, and so had more to do with Christians than 
any of the Turkish dynasties before them had. And it should care¬ 
fully be noticed that it is from this time that a more special and crying 
oppression of the Christians under Mohammedan rule begins. The 
Turks, even these earlier and better Turks, were a ruder and fiercer 
people than the Saracens, and they were doubtless full of the zeal of 
new converts. Doubtless, even under the Saracen rule, the Christian 
subjects of the Caliphs had always been oppressed and sometimes 
persecuted. But it is plain that, from the time when the power of the 
Turks began, oppression became harder and persecution more common. 
It was the increased wrong-doings of the Turks, both towards the 
native Christians and towards pilgrims from the West, which caused 
the great cry for help which led to the Crusades. There were no 
Crusades as long as the Saracens ruled; as soon as the Turks came in, 
the Crusades began. 

In the latter part of the eleventh century began those long con¬ 
tinued invasions of the Eastern Roman Empire by the Turks which 
led in the end to the foundation of the Ottoman power in Europe 
There is no greater mistake than to think that the whole time during 
which the Eastern Empire went on at Constantinople was a time of 
mere weakness and decline. A power which was beset by enemies on 
all sides, in a way in which hardly any other power ever was, could 
not have lived on for so many ages, it could not have been for a great 
part of that time one of the chief powers of the world, if it had been 


273 


ORIGIN OF THE TURKS. 

all that time weak and declining. The Eastern Emperors are often 
said by those who have not read their history to have been all of them 
weak and cowardly men. Instead of this, many of them were great 
conquerors and rulers, who beat back their enemies on every side, and 
made great conquests in their turn. The great feature in the history 
of the Eastern Empire is not constant weakness and decline, but the 
alternation of periods of weakness and decline followed by periods of 
recovered strength. In one century provinces are lost; in another 
they are won back again, and new provinces added. It was in one of 
these periods of decline, following immediately after the greatest of 
all periods of renewed power, that the Turks and Romans first came 
across one another. We say Romans, because the people of the 
Eastern Empire called themselves by no other name, and the nations 
of Asia knew them by no other name. The Eastern Empire was 
indeed fast becoming Greek, as the Western Empire may be said to 
have already become German. But the Emperors and their subjects 
never called themselves Greeks at any time, and the time has not yet 
come when it becomes convenient to give them the name. 

The Turkish invasion of the Empire came just after a time of 
brilliant conquest and prosperity under the Macedonian dynasty of 
Emperors. This dynasty began in the ninth century and went on 
into the eleventh. Under it the Empire gained a great deal, and lost 
comparatively little. At the very beginning of the period, in 878, 
the Saracens completed the conquest of Sicily, which had been going 
on for about fifty years. A hundred years later, in 988, Cherson, an 
outlying possession in the Tauric peninsula or Crimea, was taken by 
the Russian Vladimir. On the other hand, the power of the Empire 
was vastly increased both in Europe and in Asia. The dominions of 
the Emperors in Southern Italy were increased; Crete was won back; 
the great Bulgarian kingdom was- conquered, and the other Slavonic 
states in the Eastern peninsula became either subject or tributary to 
the Empire. In Asia large conquests, including Antioch, were made 
from the Saracens; Armenia was annexed, and the power of the 
Empire was extended along the eastern shores of the Euxine. The 
greatest conquests of all were made in the reign of Basil the Second, 
called the Slayer of the Bulgarians, who reigned from 976 to 1025. 
A dominion of this kind, which depends on one man, is something like 
a watch, which, if wound up, will go for a while by itself, but will 
IS 




274 


ORIGIN OS THE TURKS. 



presently go down, if it is not wound up again. So, as after Basil no 
great Emperor reigned for some while, the Empire began again to fall 
back, not at once, but within 
a few years. About the mid¬ 
dle of the eleventh century 
came one of the periods of 
decline, and the Empire was 
cut short by the Normans 
in Italy and by the Turks 
in Asia. The Seljuk Sultan 
Alp-Arshin invaded Asia Mi¬ 
nor, a land which the Saracens 
had often ravaged, but which 
they had never conquered. 

He overthrew the Emperor 
Romanos in battle, and treated 
him personally with marked 
generosity. This was in 1071, 
and from this time dates the 
establishment of the Turks, 
as distinguished from the 
Saracens, in the lands which 
had been part of the Roman 
Empire. All the inland part 
of the peninsula was now 
occupied by the Turks, and, 
when in 1092 the great Seljuk 
dominion was broken up, the 
city of Nikaia or Nice, the place of the famous council, became the 
capital of a Turkish dynasty. The map will show how near this 
brought the Turks to Constantinople. And it might hardly have 
been thought that three hundred and sixty years would pass before 
the Turks entered the imperial city. But, as ruling over a land 
conquered from the Roman Empire, the Sultans who reigned at Nikaia 
called themselves Sultans of Bourn, that is of Borne. It was this great 
advance of the power of the Seljuk Turks which caused the Christian 
nations of the West to come to the help of their brethren in the East. 

The history of the Crusades concerns us here only so far as, by 


A Turkish Mosque. 












OR I GIN OF THE TURKS . 


275 



A Mohammedan Mosque. 


affecting both the Eastern Roman Empire and the power of the Seljuk 
Turks, they did in the end pave the way for the advance of the Otto¬ 
mans. The effect of the first Crusade was to drive back the Turks 
from their position at Nikaia which was so threatening to the Empire. 
The Emperors who now reigned, those of the house of Komnenos/ 
were for the most part either wise statesmen or good soldiers. Under 
their reigns therefore came another period of renewed strength, though 
the Empire never again became what it had been under the Macedo¬ 
nians We are most concerned with their advance in Asia. There, 
following in the wake of the Crusaders, they were able to win back a 
























276 


ORIGIN OF THE TURKS. 


great part of the land, and the capital of the Selj.uk Sultans fell back 
from Nikaia to Ikonion. The dominion of these Sultans gradually 
broke up after the usual manner of Asiatic powers, and so paved the j 
way for the coming of a mightier power of their own race. But 
meanwhile events were happening in Europe which equally payed the 
way for the growth of new powers there. After the time of revival ; 
under the Komnenian Emperors came another time of decline, in the j 
latter years of the twelfth century. The Bulgarians threw off the 
Roman yoke and formed a restored Bulgarian kingdom, which cut the 
Empire short to the northwest. At the other end of the Empire, a 
separate Emperor set himself up in the isle of Cyprus. A time of 
utter weakness and disunion had come, when it seemed as if the \ 
Empire must fall altogether before any vigorous enemy. 

And so in some sort it happened. A blow presently came which 
may be looked on as really the ending of the old Roman Empire of 
the East. In 1204 Constantinople was taken by a band of Crusaders 
who had turned away from the warfare to which they were bound 
against the Mohammedans in Asia, to overthrow the eastern bulwark 
of Christendom in Europe Now begins the dominion of the Franks 
or Latins in Eastern Europe; The Christians of the West were known 
as Latins, as belonging to the Western or Latin Church, which ac¬ 
knowledged the authority of the Bishop of Rome. And they were 
called Franks, as Western Europeans are called in the East to this 
day, because most of them came from countries where the French * 
tongue was spoken. But along with the French speaking Crusaders 
came the Venetians, who had a great trade in the East, and who had 
already begun to establish their power in Dalmatia. Constantinople 
was taken, and Baldwin, Count of Flanders, was set up as a Latin 
Emperor. So much of Romania , as the Eastern Empire was called, 
as the Franks and Venetians could get hold of was parcelled out 
among the conquerors. But they never conquered the whole, and 
Greek princes kept several parts of the Empire.. Thus what really ; 
happened was that the Empire was split up into a number of small 
states, Greek and Frank. We now cannot help using the word Greek; 
for, after the loss of Bulgaria, the Empire was wholly confined to 
Greek-speaking people, and we need some name to distinguish them 
from the Franks or Latins. But they still called themselves Romans; 
and it is strange, in reading the Greek writers, to hear of wars between 




*> 





0 



































ORIGIN OF TIIE TURKS. 


277 


the Romans and the Latins, as if we had gone back to the early days 
of the Old Rome and the Thirty Cities of Latium. Latin Emperors 
reigned at Constantinople for nearly sixty years. For a few years 
there was a Latin kiugdom of Thessalonica, and there were Latin 
princes at Athens and in Peloponnesos, while the commonwealth of 
Venice kept the great islands of Corfu and Crete, and allowed Venetian 
families to establish themselves as rulers in several of the islands of 
the ^Egsean. On the other hand, Greek princes reigned in Epeiros, 
and two Greek Empires were established in Asia. One had its seat at 
Trebizond on the southeast coast of the Euxine, while the other had 
its seat at Nikaia, the first capital of the Turkish Sultans of Roum. 
This last set of Emperors gradually won back a considerable territory 
both in Europe and Asia, and at last, in 1261, they won back Con¬ 
stantinople from the Latins. Thus the Eastern Roman Empire in 
some sort began afresh, though with much smaller territory and power 
than it had before the Latin conquest It was threatened on all sides 
by Bulgarians, Servians, Latins, and Turks; and no great Emperors 
reigned in this last stage of the Empire. Yet, even in these last days, 
there was once more something of a revival, and the Emperors 
• gradually wou back nearly the whole of all Peloponnesos. 

Thus a way was opened for a new race of conquerors both in Europe 
and Asia, by the breaking up of the power of the old Emperors who, 
even as late as the eleventh century, bad reigned at once in Italy and 
in Armenia, Instead of the old Eastern Empire, there was now only 
a crowd of states, two of which, at Constantinople and Trebizond, kept 
on the titles of the old Empire. None of them were very great, and 
most of them at enmity with one another. The thirteenth century 
too, which saw the break-up of the Empire in Europe, saw also the 
break-up of the older Mohammedan powers in Asia and the beginning 
of the last and the most abiding of all. This was, in fact, the time 
when all the powers of Europe and Asia seemed to be putting on new 
shapes. In the thirteenth century the Western Empire in some sort 
came to an end as well as the Eastern. For after Frederick the Second 
the Emperors maintained no abiding power in Italy. In Spain the 
Mohammedan power, which had once held nearly the whole peninsula, 
was shut up within the narrow bounds of the kingdom of Granada. 
Castile now took its place as the leading power of Spain, and France 
was likewise established as the ruling power of Gaul. And, while great 


278 


ORIGIN OF THE TURKS. 


Christian powers were thus established in the western lands which had 
been held by the Mohammedans, the Caliphate of Bagdad itself was 
overthrown by conquerors from the further lands of Asia. This event, 
which seemed the most crushing blow of all, was part of a chain of 
events which brought on the stage a Mohammedan power more terrible 
than all that had gone before it. We have now come to the time of 
the first appearance of the Ottoman Turks. 



Mosque and Tomb of Sultan Mohammed. 















THE OTTOMAN TURKS . 


279 


CHAPTER XVI. 

THE OTTOMAN TURKS. 

The necessities of the Seljukian Turks in Asia Minor had reached 
their far distant and now comparatively ancient home in Khorassan, 
where there still lived a large tribe of this renowned race under the 
name of Oghouz Turks. 

Actuated, it may be, by sympathy, or it may be by pressure from 
Tartar foes, Soliman Shah, chief of the Oghouz Turks, broke, like a 
rift from a river-bank, from his native land, and with four hundred 
families of his tribe, headed by their male warriors, he wended his 
way towards Asia Minor, to mingle with his kinsfolk under the Sultan 
Aladdin of Iconiurn. 

Rough must have been the way, and hard the fare of these immi¬ 
grant £ rnilies, as they tramped over mountain and plain, through 
river and marsh, over the thousands of miles which separated them 
from their destination. Their chief, Soliman Shah, was drowned in 
the passage of the river Euphrates; but his son Ertoghrul, the pro¬ 
genitor of the future Ottoman power, immediately placed himself at 
their head. For weeks and months they w r andered, until at last they 
approached their future home. One day, Ertoghrul, with his brave 
chiefs leading the van, had just crested a tedious hill, and were 
descending to the valley below, when they suddenly found themselves 
in the presence of two contending armies. Ertoghrul quickly formed 
his men in order of battle, and anxiously watched the fight. “ Which 
side shall we take?” asked his officers. “Yonder is the weakest,” said 
Ertoghrul; “ charge, and onward to their rescue.” Ertoghrul dis¬ 
covered that the side whose cause he had espoused and won, was no 
other than that of Sultan Aladdin himself. He was rewarded by a 
grant of lands near the shores of the Euxine, and those lands, step by 
step, grew into the Ottoman Empire. He was succeeded by his son 
Osman, or Othman, a.d. 1299, a born military genius, and the founder 
of the Turkish race in Europe. From him comes their name of Oth- 
mans, or Ottomans, or Osmanlis. Warriors flocked to the new standard 
and Othman became the most powerful prince in Western Asia. 


280 


THE OTTOMAN TURKS. 


One characteristic feature of Ottoman history may strike us from 
the very beginning. The house of Othman arose on the ruins of the 
house of Seljuk; but whatever our own day may be destined to see, no 
other power has yet arisen on the ruins of the house of Othman. No 
other Eastern power has had such an abiding life. The Bagdad 
Caliphate lasted as long by mere reckoning of years; but for many 
ages the Bagdad Caliphate was a mere shadow. Other Eastern powers 
l ave commonly broken in pieces after a few generations. The Otto¬ 
man power has lasted for six hundred years; and, stranger than all, 
when it seemed for a moment to be going the way of other Eastern 
dynasties, when the power of the Ottoman Turk seemed to be breaking 
in pieces as the power of the Seljuk Turk had broken in pieces before 
him, the scattered fragments were again joined together, and the work 
of conquest and rule again began. But by means of this very abiding 
life, by prolonging the rule of a barbarian power in the midst of 
modern civilization, the rule of the Ottoman has shown us, in a way in 
which the the earlier Turkish dynasties could not show us, what a 
power of this kind comes to in the days of its long decay. An Eastern 
dynasty, above all a Mohammedan dynasty, is great and glorious 
arcording to an Eastern standard as long as it remains a conquering 
dynasty. The Ottoman Turks remained a conquering dynasty longer 
than any other. Their power was thus so firmly established that it 
has been able to outlive the causes which broke up earlier dynasties. 
But, by having its being thus prolonged, it has lived on to give an 
example of corruption and evil of every kind for which it would be 
hard to find a parallel among the worst of earlier dynasties. 

The Ottoman Turks have never been, in any strict sense, a nation. 
They were in their beginning a wandering horde, and even in the 
time of their greatest dominion, they kept up much of the character 
of a wandering horde. They have nowhere really become the people 
of the land. Where they have not borne rule over Christians, they 
have borne rule over other Mohammedans, and they have often 
oppressed them nearly as much, though not quite in the same way, as 
they have oppressed their Christian subjects. They have been, we may 
say, a ruling order, a body ready to admit and promote any one of 
any nation who chose to join them, provided of course that he accepted 
the Mohammedan religion. In this has lain their strength and their 
greatness; but it has been throughout, not the greatness of a nation, 


Social Life in Constantinople. 


THE OTTOMAN TURKS, 


281 



X 


























































































































































282 


THE OTTOMAN TURKS . 


but the greatness of a conquering army, bearing rule over other 
nations. Stripping conquest and forced dominion of the false glory 
which surrounds them, we may say that the Ottomans began as a 
baud of robbers, and that they have gone on as a band of robbers ever 
since. To a great part of their history, especially to their position in 
our own times, that description would apply in its fullness. But it 
would not be wholly fair to speak in this way of the early Ottomans. 
The settled and self-styled civilized Turk is really more of a robber 
than the wandering barbarian under whom his power began. When 
conquest simply means transfer from one despot to another, the con¬ 
quered often gain rather than lose. The rule of the conquering despot 
is stronger than that of the despot "whom he conquers, and a strong 
despot usually comes nearer to a good ruler than a weak one. That 
is to say, he does a kind of justice in his dominions. However great 
may be his own personal crimes and oppressions, he puts some check 
on the crimes and oppressions of others. As long, therefore, as the Otto¬ 
man rulers were strong, as long as they were conquerors, there was a 
good side to their rule. Most of the Sultans w’ere stained with horrible 
crimes in their own persons; but most of the early Sultans had many 
of the virtues of rulers and conquerors. It was when their power 
began to decay that the blackest side of their rule came out. The 
oppression of the Sultans themselves became greater. To oppression 
was added the foulest corruption, and the weak Sultans were not able, 
as the strong ones had been, to keep their own servants in some kind 
of order. In short, the Ottoman rulers were the longest, and the early 
Ottoman rulers were the greatest of all lines of Eastern despots. 
Because of their greatness, their power has been more long-lived than 
any other. Because it has been more long-lived, it has in the end 
become worse than any other. 

We must be prepared then from the beginning to find in the 
Ottoman rulers much that is utterly repulsive to our moral standard, 
much that is cruel, much that is foul, joined with much that may 
fairly be called great. They were in any case great soldiers. If we 
may apply the name statesmanship to carrying out any kind of 
purpose, good or bad, they were also great statesmen. And it is not 
till they have passed into Europe that their worst side distinctly 
prevails. And he who was at once the greatest of all and the worst 
of all, was he who fixed his throne in Constantinople. As Ion" as they 




THE OTTOMAN TURKS. 


283 


remained in Asia, the Ottomans might pass for one among many 
Asiatic dynasties. It is their establishment in Europe which gave 
them their special character. 

It was with Othman’s son Orkhan, who succeeded him in 1326, that 
the Ottoman Empire really begins. He threw off his nominal allegiance 
to the Sultan, though he still bore only the title of Emir. And in 
his time the Ottomans first made good their footing in Europe. But 
while his dominion was still only Asiatic, Orkhan began one insti¬ 
tution which did more than anything else firmly to establish the 
Ottoman power. This was the institution of the tribute children. 
By the law of Mohammed, as we have seen, the unbeliever is allowed 
to purchase life, property, and the exercise of his religion, by the pay¬ 
ment of tribute. Earlier Mohammedan rulers had been satisfied with 
tribute in the ordinary sense. Orkhan first demanded a tribute of 
children. The deepest wrongs, that which other tyrants did as an 
occasional outrage, thus became under the Ottomans a settled law. A 
fixed proportion of the strongest and most promising boys among the 
conquered Christian nations were carried off for the service of the 
Ottoman princes. They were brought up in the Mohammedan faith, 
and were employed in civil or military functions, according to their 
capacity. Out of them was formed the famous force of the Janissaries, 
the new soldiers, who, for three centuries, as long as they were levied 
in this way, formed the strength of the Ottoman armies. These chil¬ 
dren, torn from their homes and cut off from every domestic and 
national tie, knew only the religion and the service into which they 
were forced, and formed a body of troops such as no other power, 
Christian or Mohammedan, could command. In this way the strength 
of the conquered nations was turned against themselves. They could 
not throw off the yoke because those among them who were their 
natural leaders were pressed into the service of their enemies. It was 
not till the practice of levying the tribute on children was discontinued 
that the conquered nations showed any power to stir. While the force 
founded by Orkhan lasted in its first shape, the Ottoman armies were 
irresistible. But all this shows how far the Ottomans were from 
being a national power. Their victories were won by soldiers who 
were really of the blood of the Greeks, Slaves, and other conquered 
nations. In the same way, while the Ottoman power was strongest, 
the chief posts of the Empire, civil and military, were constantly held, 



284 


THE OTTOMAN TURKS . 

not by native Turks, but by Christian renegades of all nations. The 
Ottoman power in short was the power, not of a nation, but simply of 
an army. The Ottomans began, and they have gone on ever since, as 
an army of occupation in the lands of other nations. 

By the end of Orkhan’s reign the Ottoman power was fully estab¬ 
lished in Asia Minor. Its Emirs had spread their power over all the 
other Turkish settlements, and nothing was left to the Christians but a 
few towns, chiefly on the coast. Above all, Philadelphia and Phdkaia 
long defended themselves gallantly after everything else was lost. The 
chief Christian power in Asia was now no longer the Roman or Greek 
Emperor at Constantinople, but the more distant Emperor at Trebi- 
zond. Besides their possessions on the south coast of the Euxine, 
these Emperors also held the old territories of the Empire in the 
Tauric Cherson6sos or Crimea. The Turks had now the whole inland 
part of Asia Minor. And this inland part of Asia Minor is the only 
part of the Ottoman dominions where any Turks are really the people 
of the land. The old Christian population has been quite displaced, 
and Anadol or Anatolia, the land of the East, is really a Turkish 
land. Yet it can hardly be said to be an Ottoman land. There the 
ruling body have borne sway over the descendants of the old Seljuk 
Turks. The Ottomans in short are strangers everywhere. They are 
strangers bearing rule over other nations, over Mohammedans in Asia, 
over Christians in Europe. 

The Ottoman rule over Christians in Europe began in the last years 
of Orkhan. The state of Southeastern Europe in the fourteenth cen¬ 
tury was very favorable for the purposes of the Turks. We have seen 
bow utterly the old Empire was broken up, and how the Greek¬ 
speaking lands were divided among a crowd of states, Greek and 
Frank. A new power had lately arisen in the iEgsean through the 
occupation of Rhodes and some of the neighboring islands by the 
Knights of St. John. A military order is not well fitted for gov¬ 
erning its dominions; but no power can be better fitted for defending 
them, and the Knights of St. John at Rhodes did great things against 
the Turks. The power of the Emperors at Constantinople, cut short 
by the Turks in Asia, was cut short by the Bulgarians in Europe. It 
was only in Peloponn6sos that they advanced at the cost of the Latins. 
Just at the time before the Turks crossed into Europe, a new power 
had arisen, or rather an old power had grown to a much greater place 



Church of Sr. Sophia, Constantinople. 


THE OTTOMAN TURKS . 


285 































































































































































286 


THE OTTOMAN TURKS. 


than it held before. Stephen Dushan, King of Servia, who took the 
title of Emperor, had established a great dominion which took in most 
part of Macedonia, Albania, and Northern Greece. But the Greek 
Emperors kept Constantinople and the lands round about it, with 
detached parts of Macedonia and Greece, including specially the great 
city of Thessalonica. Had the Servian Emperor been able to win 
Constantinople, a power would have been formed which might have 
been able to withstand the Turks. Servia would have been the body, 
and Constantinople the head. As it was, the Turks found in Servia a 
body without a head, and in Constantinople a head without a body. 
The Servian Empire broke up on the death of its great king, and the 
Greeks were divided by civil wars. Thus, instead of Servians and 
Greeks together presenting a strong front to the Turks, the Turks were 
able to swallow up Greeks, Servians, and all the other nations, bit 
by bit. 

The Ottomans did not make their first appearance in Europe as 
avowed conquerors. They appeared, sometimes as momentary rava- 
gers, sometimes as mercenaries in the Imperial service or as allies of 
some of the contending parties in the Empire. Thus in 1346 the 
Emperor John Kantakouzenos called in the Turks to help him in 
civil war. From this time we may date their lasting presence in 
Europe, though they did not hold any permanent possessions there till 
in 1356 they seized Kallipolis in the Thracian Cherson&os. This was 
the beginning of the Ottoman dominion in Europe. From this time 
they advanced bit by bit, taking towns and provinces from the Empire 
and conquering the kingdoms beyond the Empire, so that Constanti¬ 
nople was quite hemmed in. But the Imperial city itself was not 
taken till nearly a hundred years after the first Turkish settlement in 
Europe. It must always be remembered that the Turks overcame 
Servia and Bulgaria long before they won Thessalonica, Constan¬ 
tinople, and Peloponnesos. Their first conquests gathered threaten¬ 
ingly round Constantinople; but they did not as yet actually attack 
it. Nor did they always at once incorporate the lands which they 
subdued with their immediate dominions. In most of the lands of 
which the Turks got possession, the process of conquest shows three 
stages. There is, first, mere ravage for the sake of plunder, and to 
weaken the land which was ravaged. Then the land is commonly 
brought under tribute or some other form of subjection, without being 


THE OTTOMAN TURKS. 


287 

made a part of the Sultans immediate dominions. Lastly, the land 
which is already practically conquered becomes a mere Ottoman pro¬ 
vince. In this way it is worth noticing that, as we shall see further 
on, a large part of the European dominions of the Turk, though they 
were subdued long before the taking of Constantinople, were allowed 
to keep on some shadow of separate being under tributary princes till 
after Constantinople was taken. 

The first lasting settlement of the Turks on European ground was 
made, as we have seen, while Orkhan still reigned. But it was in the 
reign of Murad L, who succeeded Orkhan in 1359, that the first settle¬ 
ment at Kallipolis grew into a compact European power. In a very 
few years from their first occupation of European territory, the Turks 
had altogether hemmed in what was left of the Empire. As early as 
1361 Murad took Adrianople, which became the European capital of 
the Ottomans till they took Constantinople. Nothing was now left to 
the Empire but the part of Thrace just around Constantinople, with 
some of the cities on the Euxine, together with the outlying possessions 
w r hich the Emperors still kept in Macedonia and Greece. Among them 
were the greater part of Peloponn6sos and the Chalkidian peninsula 
with Thessalonica. In Asia all that remained to the Empire was a 
little strip of land just opposite Constantinople, and the two cities of 
Philadelphia and Phokaia, which might now almost be looked on as 
allied commonwealths rather than as parts of the Empire. But 
Murad not only cut the Empire short, he also carried his arms into 
the Slavonic lands to the north. They lay as temptingly open to con¬ 
quest as the Greek lands. The power of Servia went down at once 
after the death of Stephen Dushan, and Bulgaria a few years later 
was split up into three separate kingdoms. Murad’s first important 
conquest in this direction was the taking of Philippopolis in 1363. 
That city had changed masters several times, but it was then Bulga¬ 
rian. Bulgaria just now, besides her own divisions, had wars with 
Hungary to the north and with the Empire to the south. Yet amid 
all this confusion, several powers did unite to withstand the Turks ; 
and it was only gradually, and after several battles, that either Servia 
or Bulgaria was conquered. It seems to have been about 1371 that 
the chief Bulgarian kingdom, that of Trnovo, became tributary. But 
while Servia and Bulgaria were breaking in pieces* Bosnia to the 
northwest of them, which lay further away from the Turks, was 





288 


THE O T'l OMA A 1UKKS. 



A Turkish Bank-note. 


growing in power. A great Slave confederation was formed under the 
Bosnian King Stephen, and Bosnians, Croats, and Servians for a little 
while won some successes over the Turks. But at last a great con¬ 
federate army, Bosnian, Servian, Bulgarian, and Wallachian, was 































THE OTTOMAN TURKS. 289 

utterly defeated by the Turks at Cassova in 1389. Muiwd himself 
was killed, not in the battle, but by a Servian who pretended to desert. 
But he was at once succeeded by his son Bajazet, who reaped the fruits 
of the victory. In the course of two or three years after the battle, 
Servia and Wallachia became tributary, and the greater part of Bul¬ 
garia was altogether conquered. 

It is from the battle of Cassova that the Servians, and the Southern 
Slaves generally, date the fall of their independence. Bosnia, in its 
corner, still remained but little touched; it was ravaged, but not yet 
conquered. But all the lands which had made up the great Servian 
and Bulgarian kingdoms of former times were now either altogether 
conquered by the Turk, or made tributary to him, or else driven to 
maintain their independence by ceaseless fighting. And as the lauds 
which the Turks subdued were made into tributary States before they 
were fully annexed, th« Turks were able to use each people that they 
brought under their power as helpers against the next people whom 
they attacked. Thus at Cassova Murad had already Christian tribu¬ 
taries fighting on his side. From this time till Servia was completely 
incorporated with the Turkish dominions, the Servians had to fight 
in the Turkish armies against the other Christian nations which the 
Turks attacked. In this way the strength of the Christian nations 
was used against one another, till the Turk thought the time was 
come more directly to annex this or that tributary land. In this 
the policy of the Ottomans was much the same as the policy of the 
Homans in old times. For they also commonly made the lands which 
they conquered into dependent States, before they formally made them 
into Homan provinces. In either case it may be doubted whether the 
lands which were left in this intermediate state gained much by not 
being fully annexed at once. Still the way by which the Ottoman 
Empire came together suggests the way by which it ought to fall 
asunder. Some of the tributary lands have always kept a certain 
amount of separate being. Some have, after a long bondage, come 
back again to the tributary state. In short, experience shows that the 
natural way for restoring these lands to their ancient independence is 
by letting them pass once more through the intermediate state. Only 
this time it must be with their faces turned in the direction of a more 
thorough freedom, not as in ages past, in the direction of a more 
thorough bondage. 

I? 


290 


THE OTTOMAN TURKS. 


The accession of Bajazet marks a distinct change in the history of 
Ottoman conquest. Up to this time the Ottoman princes had shown 
themselves—except in the exaction of the tribute children—at least 
not worse than other Eastern conquerors. With Amurath’s successor, 
Bajazet, the darker side of the Ottoman dominion comes more strongly 
into view. He was the first to begin his reign with the murder of a 
brother out of cold policy. Under him too that foul moral corruption 
which has ever since been the distinguishing characteristic < f the Otto¬ 
man Turk came for the first time into its prominence. Other people 
have been foul and depraved; what is specially characteristic of the 
Ottoman Turk is that the common road to power is by the path of the 
foulest shame. Under Bajazet the best feature of the Mohammedan 
law, the almost ascetic temperance which it teaches, passed away, and 
its worst feature, the recognition of slavery, the establishment of the 
arbitrary right of the conqueror over the conquered, grew into a 
system of wrong and outrage of which the Prophet himself had never 
dreamed. Under Bajazet the Turk fully displayed those parts of his 
character which distinguish him, even more than other Mohammedans, 
from Western and Christian nations. Yet amid all this corruption, 
Bajazet could sometimes exercise a stern Eastern justice, and the 
mission of his race, the mission of warfare and conquest, still went on; 
Bajazet was surnamed the Thunderbolt, and he was the first of the 
Ottoman princes to exchange the humbler title of Emir for that of 
Sultan. Yet, after Bajazet had consolidated the results of the victory 
of Cassova by his Bulgarian and Servian conquests, the actual domin¬ 
ion of the Ottomans did not make such swift advances under him as it 
had made under his father Murad. It was rather distinguished by a 
scourge worse than that of actual conquest, by constant plundering 
expeditions, carried on chiefly for the sake of booty and slaves—the 
slaves being specially picked out for the vilest purposes. These 
ravages spread everywhere from Hungary to Peloponn6sos. But the 
most remarkable conquest of Bajazet was in Asia. Philadelphia still 
held out, and its citizens still deemed themselves subjects of the 
Emperors at Constantinople. Yet, when Bajazet thought proper to 
add the city to his dominions, the Emperor Manuel and his son were 
forced, as tributaries of the Sultan, to send their contingent to the 
Turkish army, and to assist in the conquest of their own city. But 
enemies presently came against Bajazet both from the West and from 


THE OTTOMAN TURKS . 


291 


the East. His enemy from the West he overthrew; but he was him¬ 
self overthrown by his enemy from the East. A large body of 
Crusaders came to the help of Sigismuud, King of Hungary, the same 
who was afterwards Emperor of the West. But Bajazet, at the head 
of his own Turks and of his Christian tributaries, who were of course 
forced to serve with them, overthrew Sigismund and his allies in the 
battle of Nicopolis in 1396. A number of Christian knights from the 
West were massacred after the battle, and others were put to ransom ; 
among these last was one whose name connects Eastern and Western 
history, John, Count of Nevers, afterwards Duke of Burgundy, the 
second of those dukes of Burgundy who play so great a part in the 
history of France, England, and Germany. Bajazet also was the first 
of the Sultans w T ho directly attacked Constantinople. Things looked 
as if the last traces of the Eastern Empire were now about to be 
wiped out. But the Ottoman conqueror was presently met by a still 
more terrible conqueror from the further East. The conquests of 
Timour, the famous Tamerlane, which spread slaughter and havoc 
through Mohammedan Asia, gave a moment’s respite to Christian 
Europe. Bajazet was overthrown and taken captive at Angora in 
1402. No such blow ever fell on any Ottoman prince before or after. 

After the defeat and captivity of Bajazet, things looked as if the 
Ottoman dominion had run the common course of an Eastern domin¬ 
ion, as if it was broken up forever. And, as w T e before said, the most 
wonderful thing in all Ottoman history is that, though it was broken 
up for a moment, it w r as able to come together again. The dominions 
of Bajazet were for a while divided, and their possession was disputed 
among his three sons. At last they were joined together again under 
his son Mohammed I. Still the time of confusion was a time of relief 
to the powers which were threatened by the Turks, and, even after 
Mohammed had again joined the Ottoman dominions together, he was 
not strong enough to make any great conquests. Thus the European 
power of the Ottomans made but small advances during his reign. It 
was otherwise under his son Murad II., during whose reign of thirty 
years, from 1421 to 1451, the Turkish power, notwithstanding some 
reverses, greatly advanced. He failed in an attack on Constantinople; 
but he took Thessalonica, which had lately passed from the Empire to 
the Venetians. So in his wars with Hungary he underwent several 
defeats from the great captain Huniades; but his defeats were balanced 








292 


THE OTTOMAN TURKS. 



by victories. And in one battle it must be admitted that the Turk 
was in the right and the Christian in the wrong. In a triumphant 
campaign, the Hungarian army had reached the Balkan. By the 
peace which followed, Servia again became independent, and Walla- 
chia was ceded to Hungary. Then Wladislaus, King of Hungary 
and Poland, was persuaded to break the treaty, but he was defeated 
at Varna, and the Ottoman power was again restored. Still the 
crowning of all, by the taking of the Imperial city and the complete 
subjugation of the lands on the Danube, was not the work of Murad, 
but was reserved for the days of his son. 


An Oriental Prince and his Attendants. 





















CONQUEST OT CONSTANTINOPLE. 


293 


CHAPTER XVII. 

Conquest of Constantinople. 

Murad II. was succeeded by his son Mohammed II., surnamed the 
Conqueror. We may take him as the ideal of his race, the embodi¬ 
ment in their fullest form of Ottoman greatness and Ottoman wicked¬ 
ness. A general and statesman of the highest order even from his 
youth, a man who knew his own purposes and knew by what ends to 
achieve his purposes, no man has a clearer right to the title of great, 
so far as we can conceive greatness apart from goodness. We hear of 
him also, not merely as soldier and statesman, but as a man of 
intellectual cultivation in other ways, as master of many languages, 
as a patron of the art and literature of his time. On the other hand, 
the three abiding Ottoman vices of cruelty, lust, and faithlessness 
stand out in him all the more conspicuously from being set on a 
higher pedestal. He finished the work of his predecessors; he made 
the Ottoman power in Europe what it has been ever since. He gave 
a systematic form to the customs of his house and to the dominion 
which he had won. His first act was the murder of his infant 
brother, and he made the murder of brothers a standing law of his 
Empire. He overthrew the last remnants of independent Roman 
rule, of independent Greek nationality, and he fixed the relations 
which the Greek part of his subjects were to bear towards their 
Turkish masters and towards their Christian fellow-subjects. He 
made the northern and western frontiers of his Empire nearly what 
they still remain. The Ottoman Empire, in short, as our age has to 
deal with it, is, before all things, the work of Mohammed the Con¬ 
queror. The prince whose throne was fixed in the new Rome held 
altogether another place from even the mightiest of his predecessors. 

Mohammed had reigned two years, he had lived twenty-three, on 
the memorable day, May 29th, 1453, when the Turks entered the city 
of the Caesars, and when the last Emperor Constantine died in the 
breach. As the Turkish armies spread over Thrace, the forces of the 
Byzantine Empire retreated until they were confined to the narrow 
limits of the capital which had hitherto resisted the fierce attacks of 




294 


CONQUEST OT CONSTANTINOPLE . 


the Ottomans. On the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus Mohammed’s 
grandfather had formerly built a powerful fortress, and Mohammed 
now determined to erect on the opposite and European side a more 
formidable castle, as a base of operations against the city. A thou¬ 
sand masons were commanded to assemble in the spring on the spot 
called Asomaton, about five miles from the Greek metropolis. It was 
the erection of this fortress that brought about a remonstrance from 
Constantine XI., the Greek Emperor, and afterwards a declaration of 
war on the part of Mohammed. 

Closing himself within the narrow limits of the walls of his capital, 
Constantine Palseologus, surnamed Dragases, watched anxiously the 
building of the fortress at Asomaton by Mohammed II. The fortress 
rose with great rapidity, and was built in a triangular form, each 
angle being flanked by a strong and massive tower, one on the 
declivity of the hill, two along the seashore. A thickness of twenty- 
two feet was assigned for the walls, thirty for the towers, and the 
whole building was covered with a solid platform of lead. 

While Mohammed in person superintended the erection of this 
fortress, Constantine, alarmed at the extensive preparations he saw 
making, did his utmost by flattery and by gifts to ward off the blow 
which he felt was impending; but when he saw that remonstrances 
and concessions were in vain, and that the “ die was cast,” he deter¬ 
mined, like a brave soldier, that the Mohammedans should not pur¬ 
chase their victory cheaply, and he cast down the gauntlet with the 
following words to the great Sultan: “Since neither oaths, nor treaty, 
nor submission can secure peace, pursue your impious warfare. My 
trust is in God alone, and if it should please Him to modify your 
heart, I shall rejoice in the happy change. If He delivers the city 
into your hands I submit without a murmur to His holy will. But 
until the Judge of the Earth shall pronounce between us it is my 
duty to live and die in the defence of my people.” 

Strange! These were the words of Christians to Turks when the 
empire of the former trembled in the balance; and now, three hundred 
and twenty-six years afterwards, the empire again trembles in the 
balance, and the words of Turks to Christian Russia seem but the 
echo thrown back from the year 1452. 

Mohammed was an adept in the art of war, and was indefatigable 
in his preparations for the coming siege, but they were accompanied 


CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 295 

by a nervous excitement which marked the extreme importance of 
the occasion, and his recognition of the power of the Byzantine 
Empire, which was arrayed against him. 

Frequent w T ere the consultations with his Grand Vizier, his generals 
and engineers, and plans of the city and the positions for all his 
batteries were laid out with most scrupulous care. Everything was 
submitted to the criticism of his own eye, and nothing was to be left 
to chance. The recent introduction of cannon was to be the chief 
element in the siege, and a foundry was created at Adrianople to cast 
cannons which would throw a stone ball of six hundred pounds weight. 

All the aids of both ancient and modern warfare were enlisted for 
the seige, and men might be seen dragging huge cannon into position, 
while near them huge wooden towers, on rollers, crept slowly to the 
front, to be finally filled with troops and placed against the ditch, 
there to discharge their living freight, by means of ladders thrown 
from the tower-top, across the ditch, to meet the wall. 

The smoke of modern cannon was to cloak the instruments of 
ancient warfare. Not only was gunpowder to propel the missiles, but 
great engines for hurling stones, and battering-rams to beat down the 
walls, were all moving to their carefully-appointed places. Various are 
the accounts which are given of the formidable army of Turks, which, 
under their fierce Sultan, was to aid this grim machinery in its work 
of death; but Gibbon arrives at 258,000 as the total Ottoman force, 
of which 60,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry were regular troops, and 
the remainder auxiliaries. Added to these was a naval force of three 
hundred and twenty vessels, but with the exception of eighteen ships 
of war the remainder were small craft, used mostly for transport. 

Constantinople was defended on one side by the Golden Horn, on the 
other by the sea, and the third side of the triangle had, and has, a 
great wall six miles long, with high flanking towers at very short 
intervals. Opposite and parallel to this wall Mohammed cut a ditch 
to cover his attack. Fourteen batteries were distributed opposite the 
most feeble parts of the walls. The principal point of attack was to 
be the great central gate of St. Romanus. Archers were to shower 
their arrows wherever the besieged should show themselves, and miners 
were brought from Servia for subterraneous works. Nothing was 
forgotten, and all the art and strength of the Ottoman monarch was 
concentrated for the effort. 





CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 


On the Christian side preparations for defence were not wanting, 
but there was an absence of unity of action. An empire doe3 not fali 

without a cause, and the in¬ 
trigues, the dissensions, and 
the jealousies which had 
driven the Greeks out of 
Thrace, and hemmed them 
into their fortified triangle, 
now shone out in all its force, 
and, like a will-’o-the wisp, 
lured the empire to its final 
destruction. Conscious of 
his weakness, occasioned by 
the intrigues of his subjects, 
Constantine, eager to gain the 
aid of any reinforcement, pro¬ 
fessed at the last moment the 
spiritual obedience of the 
Greek to the Roman Church, 
but the false concession only 
produced bitterness and dis¬ 
appointment, and the rancor 
excited against the Genoese 
forces was almost equal to the 
hatred of the Turk. It was a 
forlorn hope of policy, which 
feil back shattered and de¬ 
feated; for, instead of rein¬ 
forcements from without, it 
only produced fresh dissen¬ 
sions within. 

The total number of in¬ 
habitants, including men, 
women, and children, did not exceed 100,000 persons and of these all 
that could be counted upon for the defence of the capital was 5,000 
men; but to them were added a brave but small force of Latin volun¬ 
teers, under the able leadership of John Giustiniani, a Genoese. 

The imminence of the danger at last roused the population to a 


A Curious Column near Constantinople. 

This column was long buried, and when or why it was 
erected is not known; it was excavated in 1855 






CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE . 


297 


sense of their critical position, and the unremitting exertions and 

ardor of the Emperor Constantine transmitted itself to the troops. 

Constantine distributed his small forces along the forts, and himself 
took the command of the outer wall. He exhorted his men anc 

officers to emulate each other in the defence of all they held dear, anc 

encouraged the timid with hopes of success and promises of reward 
Such were his exertions at the last that he inspired an enthusiasm 
which he would fain have felt himself, for in his own heart he knew 
that he must fight and die. 

A strong chain was thrown across the Golden Horn, and all the 
ships which arrived at ttie port were detained for the service of the 
besieged. Of war ships he could count but fourteen. 

The Turkish preparations were at last complete, the troops were in 
position, the batteries fixed, the soldiers were reminded of the glories 
of their ancestors, and prayers were offered to Heaven for success, and 
on the morning of the 6th of April, 1453, the signal was given, and 
the Ottoman cannon thundered at the gates of Christendom. 

At first the Greeks in their ardor for the fight, rushed down the 
ditch to meet the foe in the open field, but soon fell back exhausted by 
the advancing hosts. The battle raged fiercely along the line, but 
night came, and no impression was made upon the gallant defenders. 

Day after day was the fight renewed, but morning came and showed 
the city still confident and strong. At last food was getting scarce, 
and the horrors of a siege were sorely felt; but soon the spirits of the 
Greeks were raised as away on the Sea of Marmora they espied five 
great ships well laden with supplies, and which, by their colors flying, 
told that they were friends of those in need. Onward they flew before 
the breeze, but what a sight now met them as they neared the port! 
Three hundred Turkish ships were drawn across the straits, each filled 
with troops, and eager for the fight. The famished Christians, from 
the lofty towers, watched eagerly the approaching succor, and the 
hungry wish was father to the thought that the coming fight might 
win a kindly smile from Fortune. 

The news flew quickly through the Turkish ranks that a naval 
combat was on foot, and soon the waters of the Bosphorus seemed to 
break upon a beach of turbaned heads—one bare spot there was, as it 
were a bay, and in it the waves beat, as against a rock, upon the 
charger of the Sultan, who, riding breast high into the sea, came down 


298 CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 

to watch the unequal fight, not doubting but that these rash sailor 
Franks would soon be punished for their insolence. 

But there were brave hearts in those five gallant ships, willing to 
meet the outnumbering enemy. Gaily they careened before the swell¬ 
ing breeze, their white sails whitening in the sun, and steering straight 
upon the Turkish line bore down upon the foe. Truly it w 7 as a gallant 
sight, as all must feel, who, having witnessed the beauties of the Bos¬ 
phorus, can picture the struggling ships, urged on by cries and yells 
from the armed contending hosts. Suddenly from the Christian ranks 
there burst a joyous shout as the Turkish ships first wavered and then 
fled. But above all shouts there arose the bitter taunt of the fierce 
Sultan, as, mad with rage, he, with threatening gestures, called on his 
naval captains to make good the fight. But the rent was made, and 
like chips of straw before the rushing wind, the Turkish craft were 
swept aside, and amidst ten thousand Christian cheers, the succoring 
ships sailed in victorious to the Golden Horn. Then many a mother’s 
heart was joyous as she closely clasped her half-famished child. 

The days wore on, and fight succeeded fight, but still the Christian 
front was bold, and the Turkish hosts were baffled. Then the warlike 
genius of the Sultan came to his aid, and pointed out the weak spot 
in the armor of his adversaries. Could he but place his ships within 
the Golden Horn, the enemy’s weakest point lay open to attack. But 
how to reach it? The chain across the mouth could not be broken, 
and all else was land. No matter, it must be done, and done that 
very night. The small craft were beached, the strongest men told cff 
for each, and under the shadow of the night, for ten miles on a road 
of planks, over hill and over dale, in perfect silence, fourscore heavy 
craft were dragged and launched upon the Golden Horn 

The dawn brought a bitter surprise to the still gallant Greeks. And 
now Mohammed gathered his engineers, and the heavy cannon were 
seen moving to the water’s edge, where rafts were ready to receive them 
and form a floating battery. Such was the size of these monster guns, 
that seven shots a day was all they could be made to fire. Fifty-three 
weary days and nights had now passed, and hunger had so told upon 
the courage of the Greeks, that at sight of these floating batteries 
and preparations of the Turks they grew sick at heart, and they now 
clamored to the Emperor to deliver up the city. But sternly the 
Chrietiah king refused, and bid them to their posts to fight, and if 
needs be to die. 


CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 


299 


It was on the 29th of May that Mohammed saw his works complete; 
and all was ready for the final rush of Islamism on Christendom. 

The great Byzantine Empire, once foremost in the powers of the 
world, had shrunk within the narrow space before him, and he was 
now ready to crush it in his grasp. 

Amidst the Turkish ranks the Sheiks and Imaums (ministers of 
religion) suggested hopes of Paradise to brave soldiers who might to¬ 
morrow meet a glorious death, and to those who might survive freely 
promised rewards and honors. Then, as the sun sunk slowly in the 
west, two hundred thousand Moslems bowed down their head to Mother 
Earth in one united prayer. All day the cannon had thundered 
against the opposing walls, and near the great gate of Saint Romanus 
a yawning breach was seen. Constantine knew that the storm was 
soon to burst, but mean jealousies were rife among the Christian ranks. 
The gallant Giustiniani, like a true soldier, did his duty, and placed 
the brave Latins here and there, where points seemed weakest. The 
Emperor was everywhere exhorting to brave deeds, and enthusiasm 
seemed to follow m his path. When all were placed, and orders given, 
then with some few chosen knights he retired to the great Church of 
St. Sophia. He knew that his hour was at hand. He slowly entered 
the grand and sacred edifice, and there, uncovered, the last Byzantine 
Emperor, surrounded by his knights, stood before the cross. To-morrow 
the Byzantine Empire would pass away with him ! His tears fell 
thickly at the thought, and he knelt before the cross and prayed that 
he might die as it became a Christian knight; then, for the last time, 
he partook of the sacred emblems of his Saviour, and, turning to those 
around, he said: “ I pray forgiveness if I have injured any one in 
thought or deed.” 

Then, striding to the portal of the church, where stood his impatient 
steed, he placed his helmet on his head, and, mounting into the saddle, 
the humble Christian penitent rode off as warrior Christian king, to 
battle and to die. 

The sun had set, the evening past, and night fell on the attendant 
hosts. Christian knights, as they lay under the starry canopy of 
heaven, cast off the sterner half of man, and let their softer nature 
free; and loving thoughts of mothers, sisters, wives, went winging 
through the air to meet in last embrace. And now the solemn calm 
before the coming storm drew near, and all was hushed and still. 


300 


CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 



A Modern Oriental. 


Constantine did not sleep, but from a lofty tower watched in the still¬ 
ness of the night over the Moslem host. At length, as dawn drew 
near, hr quick ear caught the measured tread of Moslems marching to 
their posts, and many to their graves, and he warned the Christians t 9 
their battlements. Soon the stars grew pale, and the minutes of many 
a gallant life were ebbing fast away. Then suddenly, like a thunder¬ 
clap, burst out the stirring roar of war. The shouts of men, the clang 
of arms, the cannons’ roar, the horses’ neigh, the loud commands, all 
mingled in one exciting din as the Moslems rushed into the breach; by 
sea, by land, along the whole line the fierce attack was made. Wave 
after wave of troops went forward to perish in the ditch, which was 
soon filled up and bridged by the bodies of the dead and dying. 
Wherever the Greeks grew faint there appeared the noble Christian 
king, and where the king was there the Greeks grew brave, for he was 
ever foremost in the fight. 


CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 


301 


Two hours passed of bloodshed, and still the Greeks and Latin 
bravely held their ground; the Moslems paused, and victory seeme 
about to touch the hand of Christendom. 

Then, from behind the smoke and dust and swelling above the din 
of war, there came the sound of martial music, drums, fifes, and 
attaballs, growing louder, louder as it neared the great gate of St. 
Roman us. 

And from out the smoke there rode the Padishah, the fierce Seljukian 
Sultan, with royal iron mace in hand, and behind him, with calm and 
measured tread, there came ten thousand chosen Janissaries, and made 
straight for the great breach. 

Onward they came, and then, with one wild shout, they rushed iuto 
the breach. Amidst the dust and smoke might be seen the Christian 
king the foremost in the fight, but no longer by his side stood Gius- 
tiniaui, who, sorely wounded, had retired from the fight. 

Fierce was the struggle and furiously raged the fight. Here Turk 
grappled Christian in the death struggle, and shouts and groans and 
loud commands rose upon the air. But still the Christians held their 
ground. Presently there came a sound at first in front, then swelling 
louder, louder, like a rushing gale from right to left, from front to 
rear, “Allahu Akbar! Allahu Akbar!” rent the air. The brave 
Constantine heard and knew that all was lost; then turning to those 
around, u Can no man here be found to take away my life,” he mourn¬ 
fully exclaimed, but none stepped forth to fell the noble tree. “ It is 
enough, O Lord; now take away my life,” and he plunged into the 
fight, and fought until some unknown hand struck him to the heart, 
and as he sank among the heap of slain, another name was added to 
the obituary of heroes, and the Crescent rose over the waters of the 
Bosphorus, and cast a shadow over the fairest land in Europe. Thus 
fell the Byzantine Empire, and well might the Emperor and his 
knights have said: 

“Go, stranger, and in Lacedaemon tell 
That here obedient to her laws we fell.” 

We pass over the miserable scenes of the sacking and pillage of the 
city, which now became the seat of the Ottoman Empire. The Sultan 
proceeded straight to the church of St. Sophia, and alighting, entered 
surrounded by his viziers, his pashas, and his guards, and ordered one 
of the Imaums who accompanied him to summon the faithful and all 


302 


CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 


true believers to prayer, and he then himself mounted the high altar, 
and the Moslem prayer went up from the same temple that had but 
yesterday heard the Christian prayer tor victory. The body of the 
Emperor was sought, and the head cut off and exhibited for a time 
between the feet of the bronze horse of the equestrian statue of Jus- 
tinian, in the place called the Augustan. It was subsequently 
embalmed and sent around the chief cities of Asia. 

Now that the Imperial city was at last taken, Mohammed seemed 
to make it his policy, both to gather in whatever remained uncon¬ 
quered, and to bring most of the states which had hitherto been 
tributary under his direct rule. Greece itself, though it had been 
often ravaged by the Turks, had not been added to their dominions. 
The Emperors had, in the very last days of the Empire before the fall 
of Constantinople, recovered all PeloponnSsos, except some points 
which were held by Venice. Frank Dukes also reigned at Athens, 
and another small duchy lingered on in the islands of Leukas and 
lvephallenia and on the coasts of Akarnania. The Turkish conquest 
of the mainland was completed by the year 1460, but the two western 
islands were not taken until 1479. Euboia was conquered m 1471, 
when the Venetian Governor Erizzo, who had stipulated for the safety 
of his head, had his body sawn asunder. No deeds of this kind are 
recorded of the earlier Ottoman princes; but by Mohammed’s time the 
Turks had fully learned those lessons of cruelty and faithlessness which 
they have gone on practicing ever since. The Empire of Trebizond 
was conquered in 1461, and the island of Lesbos in 1462. There was 
now no independent Greek state left. Crete, Corfu, and some smaller 
islands and points of coast, were held by Venice, and some of the 
islands of the iEgtean were still ruled by Frank princes and by the 
Knights of St. John. But, after the fall of Trebizond, there was no 
longer any independent Greek state anywhere, and the part of the 
Greek nation which was under Christian rulers of any kind was now 
far smaller than the part which was under the Turk. 

While the Greeks were thus wholly subdued, the Slaves fared no 
better. In 1459 Servia was reduced from a tributary principality to 
an Ottoman province, and six years later Bosnia was annexed also. 
The last Bosnian king, like the Venetian governor in Euboia, was 
promised his life; but he and his sons were put to death none the less. 
One little fragment of the great Slavonic power in those lands alone 


CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 


303 


remained. The little district of Zeta, a part of the Servian kingdom, 
was never fully conquered by the Turks. One part of it, the moun¬ 
tain district called Montenegro, has kept its independence to our own 
times. Standing as an outpost of freedom and Christendom amid 
surrounding bondage, the Black Mountain has been often attacked, it 
has been several times overrun, but it has never been conquered. In 
a ceaseless warfare of four hundred years, neglected, sometimes be¬ 
trayed, by the Christian powers of Europe, this small people has still 
held its own against the whole might of the Turkish power. First 
under hereditary princes, then under warrior bishops, now under 
hereditary princes again, this little nation of heroes, whose territory 
is simply so much of the ancient land of their race as they are able to 
save from barbarian invasion, have still held their own, while the 
greater powers around them have fallen. To the south of them, the 
Christian Albanians held out for a long time under their famous chief, 
George Castriot or Scanderbeg. After his death in 1459, they also 
came under the yoke. These conquests of Mohammed gave the Otto¬ 
man dominion in Europe nearly the same extent which it has now. 
His victories had been great, but they were balanced by some defeats. 
The conquest of Servia and Bosnia opened the way to endless inroads 
into Hungary, Southeastern Germany and Northeastern Italy. But 
as yet these lands were merely ravaged, and the Turkish power met 
with some reverses. In 1456 Belgrade, an ancient border fortress, 
and a constant source of dissension between Christians and Mohamme¬ 
dans, was saved by the last victory of Huniades, and this time 
Mohammed the Conqueror had to flee. In another part of Europe, 
if in those days it is to be counted for Europe, Mohammed won the 
Genoese possessions in the peninsula of Crimea, and the Tartar Khans 
who ruled in that peninsula and the neighboring lands became vassals 
of the Sultan. The Ottomans were thus brought into the neighbor¬ 
hood of Poland, Lithuania, and Kussia. The last years of Moham¬ 
med’s reign were marked by a great failure and a great success. He 
failed to take Rhodes, which belonged to the Knights of St. John; 
but his troops suddenly seized Otranto in Southern Italy. Had 
this post been kept, Italy might have fallen as well as Greece; but 
the Conqueror died the next year, and Otranto was won back. 

Thus two Empires, and endless smaller states, came out of the' 
power of the Ottomans under the mightiest of their Sultans. Greeks, 




304 


CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 





Interior of a Caf^ at Constantinople. 



















































































































































































































































CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 


305 


Slaves, Albanians, all came under the yoke. But it must not be for- 
gotten that it was by the arms of men of Greek, Slave, and Albanian 
blood that they were brought under the yoke. For the Janissaries 
formed the strength of the Ottoman armies, and the Janissaries were 
formed of the kidnapped children of the conquered nations. Thus 
the Christian nations of Southeastern Europe had their own strength 
turned against them, and were overcome by the arms of their own 
: children. And presently the far-seeing eye of Mohammed found out 
that their wits might be turned against them as well as their arms. 
He saw that the Greeks had a keener wit, either than his own Turks 
or than the other subject nations, and he saw that their keen wit 
might, in the case of a part of the Greek nation, be made an instru¬ 
ment of his purposes. By his policy the Eastern Church itself was 
turned into an instrument of Turkish dominion. Speaking roughly, 
the lower clergy throughout the conquered lands have always been 
patriotic leaders, while the Bishops and other higher clergy have been 
slaves and instruments of the Turk. Greek Bishops bore rule over 
Slavonic churches, and so formed another fetter in the chain by which 
the conquered nations were held down. In course of time the Sultans 
extended the same policy to temporal matters. The Greeks, not of 
Old Greece, but of Constantinople, the Fanariots, as they came to be 
called, became in some sort a ruling race among their fellow-bondmen. 
Their ability made them useful, and the Turks learned to make use 
of their ability in many ways. In all conquests a certain class of the 
conquered finds its interest in entering the service of the conqueror. 
As a rule, such men are the worst class of the conquered. They are 
commonly more corrupt and oppressive than the conquerors them¬ 
selves. It therefore in no way lessened but rather heightened the 
bitterness of Ottoman rule, that it was largely carried on by Christian 
instruments. The Slavonic provinces had in fact to bear a two-fold 
yoke, Turkish and Greek. But this it should be remembered only 
applies to the Greeks of Constantinople. The Greeks of Greece itself 
and the rest of the Empire were no better off than the other subjects 
of the Turk. It must be remembered too that, after all, the Fanariot 
Greeks themselves were a subject race, cut off from all share in the 
higher rule of their country. That was reserved for men of the ruling 
religion, whether native Turks or renegades of any nation. And 
lastly it should be remembered that, under the rule of Mohammed 
20 



306 


CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 


the Conqueror, every man, Turk, Christian, or renegade, held his life 
and all that he had at the pleasure of Mohammed the Conqueror. 

The Turkish rule was now fully established over a considerable 
part of Europe, over nearly the whole of the lands between the 
Adriatic and the Euxine. Except where the brave men of Zeta still 
held out on the Black Mountain and where the city of Ragusa still 
kept its freedom, no part of those lands was under a national govern¬ 
ment. The few islands and pieces of coast which had escaped the 
Turk were under the rule either of Venice or of other Frank powers. 
From that day, till in our own century Servia and Greece became 
free, all those lands have been in bondage; the greater part of them 
remain in bondage still. Their people have not only been subjects of 
a foreign prince; they have been subjects of a foreign army in their 
own land. The rule of law has for all those ages ceased in those lands. 
The people of the land have had only one way of rising out of their 
state of bondage, namely, by embracing the religion of their con¬ 
querors. This many of them did, and so were transferred from the 
ranks of the oppressed to the ranks of the oppressors. In some parts 
whole classes did so. This happened specially in Bosnia. There the 
mass of the land-owners embraced Islam in order to keep their lands, 
while the body of the people remained faithful. These renegades and 
their descendants have ever since formed an oligarchy whose rule has 
been worse than that of the Turks themselves. The same thing hap¬ 
pened in Bulgaria to some degree, though to a much less extent than 
in Bosnia. It was only in Albania that the Mohammedan faith was 
really adopted by the mass of the people of large districts. In Albania 
a large part of the country did become Mohammedan, while other parts 
remained Christian, some tribes being Catholic and some Orthodox. 
But, as a rule, throughout the European lands which were conquered 
by the Turk, the mass of the people adhered to their faith, in defiance 
of all temptations and all oppressions. Bather than forsake their 
faith, they have endured to live on as bondsmen in their own land, ' 
under the scorn and lash of foreign conquerors, while apostasy would 
at any moment have raised them to the level of their conquerors. 
They have endured to live on, while their goods, their lives, the honor 
of their families, were at the mercy of barbarians, while their sons 
were kidnapped from them to be brought up in the faith of the 
oppressor and to swell the strength of his armies. In this state of 




CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE . 


307 



An Eastern Monarch in his Audience Chamber. 


abiding martyrdom they have lived, in different parts of the lands 
under Turkish rule, for two, for four, for five hundred years. While 
the nations of Western Europe have been able to advance, they have 
been kept down under the iron heel of their tyrants. 

It may however be asked with perfect fairness, how came the Otto¬ 
man Turks, starting from such small beginnings and having at first 
such small power, to make such great conquests, and to win and to 
keep so many lands, both Christian and Mussulman ? With regard to 
the conquests of the Ottomans over other Mussulmans, there is nothing 
wonderful in their making them ; the wonderful thing is that they were 
able to keep them. Their rise to power was exactly like the rise to 
power of many other Eastern dynasties. Only, while other Eastern 
dynasties have soon broken in pieces, this one kept on unbroken. Or 
it would be truer to say, what is really more wonderful, that, after the 










308 


CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 


fall of Bajazet, the Ottoman power did break in pieces for a moment, 
but that it was able to come together again. The continued succession 
of able princes in the House of Othman, the firm administration 
which they established, their excellent military discipline, and above 
all the institution of the Janissaries, will account for a great deal. 
And before long we shall see that the Ottoman Sultans won a further 
claim to the religious allegiance, not only of their own subjects, but 
of all orthodox Mussulmans. With regard to their conquests over 
Christians, the state of the Southeastern lands at that moment gave 
them many advantages. The Ottomans were a power —nation is 
hardly the word—in the full freshness of youth and enthusiasm, 
military and religious. Every Janissary, it must be remembered, 
brought to his work the zeal of a new convert. As yet the Ottomans 
w T ere in their full strength, under princes who knew how to use their 
strength. They found in Southeastern Europe a number of dis¬ 
united powers, jealous of one another, and many of them having no 
real basis of national life. The Eastern Empire was worn out. It 
would seem as if the strength of the Greeks had been worn out by 
winning back Constantinople. Certain it is that the Emperors who 
reigned at Nikaia in the thirteenth century were far better and more 
vigorous rulers than the Emperors who reigned at Constantinople in 
the fourteenth century. Certain it is that the greatness of Constanti¬ 
nople, its strength and its great traditions, helped to prolong the 
existence of a power whose real day was past, and thereby to hinder 
the growth of the more vigorous Slavonic nations which might other¬ 
wise have stepped into its place. The Frank powers, except Venice, 
were small and weak, and they were nowhere national. We may 
believe that their rule was nowhere quite so bad as that of the Turks; 
still it was everywhere a foreign rule. The Greeks who were under 
Venice and under the Frank princes, were under rulers who were 
alien to their subjects in speech, race, and creed. There could be no 
loyalty or national feeling felt towards them. It is not very wonderful 
that the Turkish Sultans, with their stern determination and their 
admirably disciplined armies, could swallow up these powers, disunited 
and some of them decaying, one by one. Again, the custom of making 
their conquests for a while merely tributary, instead of at once fully 
annexing them, helped the purpose of the Turk by enabling him to 
help in subduing the nation next beyond it. So did the custom 



CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 


309 


of harrying and plundering lands before their actual conquest was 
attempted. Men might be tempted to doubt whether regular bondage 
to the Turk might not be a less evil than having their lands ravaged 
and their children carried away into slavery. 

As most things in history have their parallel, it may be well to 
notice that the cause which brought the Ottoman power nearer to 
destruction than it ever was brought at any other time was essentially 
the same as one of the causes which most promoted its success. Any 
two sects of Christians, any two sects of Mohammedans, are really 
separated from one another by a difference which should seem very 
slight compared with the difference which separates both of them from 
men of the other religion. Yet in practice it is not always so. The 
Eastern Empire was saved from Bajazet, and its existence was pro¬ 
longed for fifty years, because Timour, who belonged to the Shiah sect 
of Mussulmans, waged a religious war on the Ottomans, who have 
always belonged to the Sonnite sect. And in exactly the same way, 
nothing helped the Ottomans so much as the dissensions between the 
Eastern and Western Churches. Many of the Greeks said that they 
would rather see the Turks in St. Sophia than the Latins, and they 
lived to see it. And the Latins, with a few noble exceptions, could 
never be got to give any real help to the Greeks. All this illustrates 
the law that the quarrels of near kinsfolk are the most bitter of any. 
And it is after all another instance of this same law which, as has 
already been said, makes Christianity and Islam rival religions above 
all others. 

The Turkish dominion in Europe was now thoroughly accomplished. 
For some years after the death of Mohammed the Conqueror, it was 
hardly at all enlarged. The next Sultan, Bajazet the Second, who 
reigned from 1481 to 1512, was not a man of war nor in any way a 
man of genius like his father. His character was an odd mixture of 
sensuality and religious mysticism, with a decided taste for science 
and literature. His wars were confined to winning a few points from 
Venice, and to constant ravages of Hungary and the other Christian 
lands to the north. Here we may mark how evil deeds produce evil. 
The horrible cruelties of the Turks in these incursions provoked equal 
cruelties on the part of the Christians, and so a black strife of retalia¬ 
tion went on. Such a reign as this was naturally unsatisfactory to the 
ruling race. Bajazet was deposed, and, after the manner of deposed 


310 


CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 


princes, he speedily died. Then came the reign of his son Selim, called 
the Inflexible, from 1512 to 1520. His was a reign of conquest, but 
of conquest waged mainly against Mohammedan enemies beyond the 
bounds of Europe. Syria and Egypt were added to the Ottoman 
dominion, and the Sultan added to that secular title the spiritual 
authority of the Caliphate. The real Caliphs of the Abbasside house 
had come to an end when Bagdad was taken by the Moguls; but a 
line of nominal Caliphs, who had no temporal power whatever, had 
gone on in Egypt. From the last of these phantoms Selim obtained a 
cession of his rights, and ever since the Ottoman Sultans have been 
acknowledged as chiefs of their religion by all Orthodox Mussulmans, 
that is all who belong to the Sonnite sect and admit the lawfulness of 
the first three Caliphs. The Persians and other Shiahs of course do 
not acknowledge the religious supremacy of the Sultan, any more than 
the Orthodox and the Reformed Churches in Christendom acknow¬ 
ledge the supremacy of the Pope. The Caliph, it should be remem¬ 
bered, is Pope and Emperor in one. For one who was already Sultan 
thus to become Caliph w T as much the same as if in the West one who 
was already Emperor had also become Pope. 

The rule of the new Caliph was in some things w r orse than that of 
any of the Emirs and Sultans who had gone before him. In systematic 
blood-thirstiness, whether towards Christians, towards heretical Mo¬ 
hammedans, or towards his own ministers and servants, Selim outdid 
all who had gone before him. But here comes out one of the special 
features of Ottoman rule. The one check on the despot’s will is the 
law of the Prophet. What the law of the Prophet bids on any par¬ 
ticular matter the Sultan must learn from the official expounders of 
that law. And it must be said, in justice to these Mohammedan 
doctors, that, if they have sometimes sanctioned special deeds of wrong, 
they have also sometimes hindered them. So it was in the reign of 
Selim. The Mufti Djemali, wffiose name deserves to be remembered, 
several times turned the Sultan from bloody purposes. At last he 
withstood Selim when he wished to massacre all the Christians in his 
dominions and to forbid the exercise of the Christian religion. Now 
such a purpose was utterly contrary to the text of the Koran, and the 
act of Djemali in hindering it was the act of a righteous man and an 
honest expounder of his own law. But be it remembered that, if the 
question had been, not whether Christians should be massacred. 


CONQUEST Of CONSTANTINOPLE. 


311 



A Mohammedan Tomb. 


but whether they should be admitted to equality with Mohammedans. 
Djemali must equally have withstood the Sultan’s purpose. The 
contemptuous toleration which the Koran enforces equally forbids 
massacres on the one side and real emancipation on the other. 

The next reign was a long and famous one, that of Soliman I., called 
the Magnificent and the Lawgiver, who reigned from 1520 to 1566. 
Mohammed had established the Empire; Soliman had to extend it, 
But Soliman was a nobler spirit than Mohammed. Under any other 
system, he would have been a good as well as a great ruler. And 
allowing for some of those occasional crimes which seem inseparable 











312 


CONQUEST ON CONSTANTINOPLE. 


from every Eastern despotism—crimes which in his case chiefly 
touched his own ministers and his own family—we may say that he 
was a good prince according to his light. The Ottoman Empire was 
now at the height of its power. Its army was the strongest and best 
disciplined of armies. But the Christian nations were now growing 
up to a level with their Mohammedan enemies. Even the long and 
cruel wars among the Christian powers themselves, while they hindered 
those powers from joining together to withstand the Turk, schooled 
them in the end severally to cope with him. Soliman took Rhodes 
early in his reign, and the Knights withdrew to Malta. He again 
besieged them at Malta in the last years of his reign, but this time 
without success. But the greatest of Soliman’s victories and the most 
instructive for our purpose, are those which he won m Hungary. At 
the beginning of his reign, in 1521, he took Belgrade, the key to 
Hungary. Five years later, the last of the separate Kings of Hun¬ 
gary, Louis II., died in battle against the Turks at Mohacs. After 
that the crown of Hungary was for a long while disputed between 
rival Kings. Thus at once on Louis’s death, John Zapolya, Prince of 
Transylvania, and Ferdinand of Austria, who was afterwards Emperor, 
were both chosen by different parties. Soliman found it to his interest 
to support Zapolya; he even besieged Vienna, though in vain. The 
end was that the Emperors kept that part of Hungary which bordered 
on Austria and their other dominions, while princes who were vassals 
of the Turk reigned in Transylvania and the eastern part of the 
kingdom. But the Turk himself took a larger share of Hungary than 
either, and a pasha ruled at Buda, as well as at Belgrade. Here too 
the progress of the Turks was helped by disunion among the Christians. 
Just as further south the Turks profited by the dissensions between 
the Catholics and the Orthodox, so in Hungary they profited by the 
dissensions between the Catholics and the Protestants. These last 
were of various sects, but all alike were persecuted by the bigoted 
Austrian Kings. 

Besides the conquests of Soliman in Hungary, the relations between 
the Turk and the two principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia were 
now definitely settled. They were to be vassal states, paying tribute; 
but the Sultan was to have no part m their internal government. No 
Turk was to live in the country, and the princes were to be freely 
chosen by the nobles and clergy of the principalities. This system 




CONQUEST OF CON ST A A TINOFLE. 


313 



An Eastern Band of Musicians. 


lasted from 1536 to 1711. Then the Sultans took to appointing and 
deposing the princes at pleasure. They appointed Fanariot Greeks; 
and so, strangely enough, the Greeks, bondmen in their own land, 
became rulers in another. 

Splendid as was the character and the rule of Soliman, still it is 
from his day that both Turkish and Christian writers date the decline 
of the Turkish power. Soliman ceased to manage all state affairs so 
directly as earlier Sultans had done. The power of the Viziers and 
the influence of the women increased. The taxes were farmed out to 
Jews, Greeks, and others, a system which always at once lessens the 
revenue of the sovereign and increases the burthens of the subject. 
Conquest brought with it luxury, love of ease, love of wealth. The 
soldiers fought less for victory than for plunder. Certain it is that, 
while up to Soliman’s time the Ottoman power had steadily advanced, 
after his time it began to go down. The Turkish lords of New Rome, 
like their Roman and Greek predecessors, had their times of revival, 




























314 


CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 


their days of unexpected conquest. But, on the whole, the Ottoman 
power now steadily declined. 

After Soliman came a second Selim, known as the Drunkard, a 
name which marks the little heed which he paid to the precepts of his 
own law. His short reign, from 1566 to 1574, was marked by the 
first great reverse of the Ottoman arms. This was the overthrow of 
the Turkish fleet by the fleets of Spain and of Venice in the great 
fight of Lepanto in 1571. It has been often said, and said with 
perfect truth, that though the Tnrk was defeated in the battle, yet he 
had really the better in the war. For the Turk lost only his fleet, 
which might be replaced, while the Venetians lost the great island of 
Cyprus, which has ever since formed part of the Turkish dominions. 
But the battle of Lepanto none the less marks the turning-point in the 
history of the Ottoman power. It broke the spell, and taught men 
that the Turks could be conquered. Hitherto, though they had failed 
in particular enterprises, their career had been one of constant advance. 
Now, for the first time, they were utterly defeated in a great battle. 
And, with the military power of the Ottomans, their moral power 
decayed also. The line of the great Sultans had come to an end. 
Several of the later Sultans were men of vigor and ability; but the 
succession of great rulers which, unless we except Bajazet II., had 
gone on without a break from Othman to Soliman the Lawgiver, now 
stopped. The power of the Sultans over their distant dominions was 
lessened, while the power of the pashas grew. The discipline of the 
Ottoman armies was relaxed, and the courts of most Sultans became 
a scene of corruption of every kind. Early in the seventeenth century 
men marked the decay of the Turkish power, and expected that it 
would presently fall to pieces. Why did it not fall ? The growth of 
the Turkish power is easily explained. A succession of such men as 
the early Sultans, wielding such a force as the Janissaries, could not 
fail to conquer. Why their power lasted so long after it began to 
decay may seem, at first sight, less easy to explain. But the causes 
are not very far to seek. The preservation of the same ruling family, 
and that a family whose head is not only Sultan of the Ottomans, but 
is deemed by Orthodox Mussulmans to be the Caliph of the Frophet, 
alone counts for a good deal. More important still has been the 
possession of the Imperial city. New Rome, under her elder lords, 
held on under greater dangers than have ever threatened their Otto- 


CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 


315 


man successors. In quite late times the Turkish power has been propped 
up by the wicked policy of the governments of Western Europe. But, 
long before that policy began, men had begun to ask why the Ottoman 
power did not fall. The possession of Constantinople is of itself 
perhaps reason enough. In the case of the later Byzantine Emperors, 
the possession of Constantinople prolonged the existence of a power 
which otherwise must have fallen, and whose prolonged existence did 
no good to the world. The case is exactly the same with the dominion 
of the Ottomans. 

We have thus traced the growth of the Ottoman power, from its first 
small beginnings till it had swelled into a vast dominion, first in Asia 
and then in Europe. It had grown to that extent of power by the 
great qualities of a long succession of princes, whose skill in the craft 
of conquerors and rulers sometimes goes far to make us forget their 
crimes. And, in the case of the Ottoman Sultans, it is not merely 
their personal crimes that we are tempted to forget. Their personal 
crimes may be paralleled in the history of other times and other 
nations. But there has never been in European history, perhaps not 
in the history of the whole world, any other power which was in 
everything so thoroughly a fabric of wrong as the power of the Otto¬ 
mans. There has been no other dominion of the same extent lasting 
for so long a time, which has been in the same way wholly grounded 
on the degradation and oppression of the mass of those who were 
under its rule. Others among the great empires of the world have 
done much wrong and caused much suffering; but they have for the 
most part done something else besides doing wrong and causing suffer¬ 
ing. Most of the other powers of the world, at all events most of those 
which play a part in the history of Europe, if they had a dark side, 
had also a bright one. To take the great example of all, the establish¬ 
ment of the Roman dominion carried with it much of wrong, much of 
suffering, much wiping out of older national life. But the Empire of 
Rome had its good side also. If Rome destroyed, she also created. If 
she conquered, she also civilized; if she oppressed, she also educated, 
and in the end evangelized. She handed on to the growing nations 
of Europe the precious inheritance of her tongue, her law, and her 
religion. The rule of the Ottoman Turk has no such balance of go*od 
to set against its evil. His mission has been simply a mission of 
destruction and oppression. From him the subject nations could gain 





$16 


CONQUEST OF CONSTANTINOPLE. 


nothing and learn nothing, except how to endure w T rong patiently. 
His rule was not merely the rule of strangers over nations in their 
own land. It was the rule of the barbarian over the civilized man, 
the rule of the unbeliever over the Christian. The direct results of 
Turkish conquest have been that, while the nations of Western Europe 
have enjoyed five hundred years of progress, the nations of South¬ 
eastern Europe have suffered five hundred years of bondage and of all 
that follows on bondage. The rule of the Turk, by whatever diplomatic 
euphemisms it may be called, means the bondage and degradation of 
all who come beneath his rule. Such bondage and degradation is not 
an incidental evil which may be reformed; it is the essence of the 
whole system, the groundwork on which the Ottoman power is built. 
The power which Othman began, wdiich Mohammed the Conqueror 
firmly established, which Soliman the Lawgiver raised to its highest 
pitch of power and splendor, is, beyond all powers that the world ever 
saw, the embodiment of wrong. In the most glorious regions of the 
world, the rule of the Turk has been the abomination of desolation, 
and nothing else. Out of it no direct good can come; indirect good 
can come of it in one shape only. The natives of Southeastern Europe 
came under the yoke through disunion. Greek, Slave, Frank, could i 
not be brought to combine against the Turk. Orthodox and Catholic 
could not be brought to combine against the Mussulman. If the long 
ages during which those nations have paid the penalty of disunion 
and intolerance shall have taught them lessons of union and tolerance, 
they may have gained something indirectly, even from five hundred 
years of Turkish bondage. We have thus far traced the steps by 
which they come under the yoke. We have now to trace the steps by 
which, on the one hand, the yoke was made harder, while, on the 
other hand, hopes began to dawn which promised that the yoke might 
one day be thrown off. We have in this chapter traced the gradual 
course of the growth of the Ottoman power; in the next chapter we 
must go on to trace the gradual course of its decline. 






DEC A Y OF THE TURKISH TO IVER. 


317 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

DECAY OF THE TURKISH POWER. 

Allowing for occasional fits of revived energy, the Ottoman power 
went steadily down after the time of Soliman the Lawgiver. It went 
down in two ways. Though territory was still sometimes won, yet on 
the whole the Ottoman frontiers fell back. After Soliman no lasting 
conquests of any importance were made, except those of the islands of 
Cyprus and Crete. The frontier on the north towards Hungary, and 
in later times towards Russia, has steadily gone back. And, last of 
all, in our own age large parts of the Ottoman territory have been 
separated from it to form distinct states, either tributary or wholly 
independent. In these ways the extent of the Ottoman dominion on 
the map has lessened wonderfully indeed since the days of Soliman. 
And, during the greater part of the times with which we are dealing, 
the power of the Sultans was getting less and less in the dominions 
which were left to them. The central administration became more 
jind more corrupt, more under the influence of ministers, favorites, and 
women than under the authority of the Sultans themselves. The 
Pashas or Governors of provinces became more and more independent, 
and in some cases they made their offices practically hereditary. In 
some parts indeed, especially toward the end of the last century, when 
the power of the Sultans was at its lowest, there was utter anarchy 
without any control of any kind. Through the seventeenth century 
especially, we may mark the short reigns of the Sultans, as contrasted 
with the long reigns of most of the great Sultans. Many of them were 
deposed and murdered, as they have again begun to be in our own 
times. Nor must we forget, as one cause of decay, the wretched 
'education, if we may so call it, of the Sultans themselves. Kept in a 
kind of imprisonment till they came to the throne, with every means 
of enjoying themselves, but with no means of learning the duties of 
rulers, they came forth from prison to be clothed with absolute power. 
One is really inclined to wonder that they were not even worse than 
they were, and that any of them showed any sign of virtue or ability 
of any kind. 





318 


DECAY OF THE TURKISH TOWER. 



A Turkish Bazaar. 

This may pass as a general picture of the character of Ottoman 
rule during the days of the decay of the Ottoman power. But it 
concerns us more to know what was the effect of this state of things on 
the nations which the Turks held in bondage. It must not be thought 
that the decay of the power of the Sultans brought any direct or 
immediate relief to the subject nations. Some indirect advantages 







































































DECAY OF THE TURKISH POWER. 


319 


they did gam from it; but in the main the weakening of the power of 
the Sultans, the general decay of their empire, meant increased 
oppression; it meant heavier bondage to be borne by their Christian 
subjects. The great Sultans, as a rule, were not men who delighted 
in oppression for oppression’s sake. Their personal crimes mainly 
touched those who were personally near to them; they had wisdom 
enough to see that they would gain nothing by making the bondage 
of the conquered nations intolerable. In all despotisms there is more 
chance of justice and mercy from the head despot than from his 
subordinates, and many a tyrant has deemed tyranny a privilege of 
the crown which no subordinate might share. As the power of the 
Sultans grew weaker, the subject nations lost their one chance of 
redress. In such a state of things grinding local oppression at the 
hands of a crowd of petty tyrants takes the place of the equal, if stern, 
rule of the common master of all. Under such grinding local oppres¬ 
sion, lands were untilled, houses were uninhabited, the population of 
the country sensibly lessened. But, as the demands both of central 
and of local rulers did not lessen, the burdens of those who survived 
were only made the heavier. Such, with a few moments of relief, has 
been the general state of things in Southeastern Europe since the 
decline of the empire began. 

The beginning of better times, or at least of brighter hopes, for the 
subject nations, may be dated from the latter years of the seventeenth 
century, and was mainly owing to two causes, the remission of the 
tribute of children and the advance of the Christian powers at the 
expense of the Turk. As long as the tribute of children was levied, 
the subject nations really could not stir. From the time when it 
ceased, even wdien there was no actual improvement in their condition, 
there was the beginning of hope. Every success gained by any 
Christian power against their masters raised the hopes and heightened 
the spirit of those who were under the yoke. Herein comes out the 
main difference between a national government and the rule of 
strangers. When any Christian power was at war with the Turk, the 
enslaved nations looked on the enemies of the Turk, not as their 
enemies, but as their friends. Every failure on the part of their 
masters, every danger that threatened their masters, gave them a 
hope of deliverance. Those who made war on the Turk seemed, not 
the enemies of their country, but its friends. The subject nations 




320 


DECAY OF THE TURKISH POWER. 


have often been very badly treated by Christian powers who professed 
to be their friends. Hopes have often been kindled, promises have 
often been made, which were never fulfilled. Still, all these causes 
joined together to stir up men’s minds, and to raise them from the 
state of utter wretchedness and despair under which they had been 
bowed down for so many generations. 

From the middle of the seventeenth century the Turks had constant 
wars with the neighboring Christian powers, w T ars in which, though 
the Turks sometimes won victories and recovered provinces, their 
dominion on the whole went back. The chief powers with which they 
had to strive up to the latter part of the seventeenth century were the 
commonwealth of Venice and the kingdom of Hungary, then held by 
the Emperors of the House of Austria. They had also wars with 
Poland, when the Polish kingdom, in the sixteenth and seventeenth 
centuries, stretched much further to the southeast than it did before 
or after. And lastly, they have had wars with Russia, which, for a 
long time past, have been of greater moment than any of the others. 
But, in the latter part of the sixteenth and the greater part of the 
seventeenth century, the chief wars were those with Venice and with 
the Emperors in their character of Kings of Hungary. Both the 
Venetian and the Hungarian wars greatly affected the interests of the 
subject nations. The Hungarian wars chiefly affected the Slaves, and 
to some extent the Roumans. The Venetian wars mainly affected the 
Greeks, and to some extent also the Slaves. The possessions of 
Venice in the East consisted of islands and points or lines of coast. 
These might easily be lost and won, as they often were, without the 
loss or gain of one settlement greatly affecting any other. But the 
kingdom of Hungary had, before the time of Soliman, lain as a com¬ 
pact mass, with a continuous frontier, to the north of the Ottoman 
dominions. And, as the Ottoman frontier went back, Hungary grad¬ 
ually took that character again. Along the Danube and its great 
tributaries, sometimes the power of the Emperors, sometimes the 
power of the Sultans, advanced. But on the whole the Ottoman 
frontier fell back. It will be seen by the map how great a territory 
has been won back from the Turks since the days of Soliman. On 
the other hand, though the Venetians gained some successes, though 
they often won back lands which they had lost and sometimes even 
won new lands, still, on the whole, the Venetian power fell back, and 


MBI 






DEC A Y OF THE TURKISH TO WER. 


321 



the Ottoman power advanced. In both cases, the change of frontier 
between the Turk and Venice or between the Turk and the Emperor 
was, for the Greek and Slavonic inhabitants of the disputed lands, 
a mere change of masters. Still there was the difference between 
civilized and barbarian masters. The rule of Venice in her distant 
possessions was bad, and often oppressive. It could awaken no kind 
of national or loyal feeling on the part of the subjects of the Common¬ 
wealth, yet it was not brutal and bloody, like that of the Turks. And, 
on the Hungarian frontier, when the Austrian kings ceased to per* 
21 










322 DECAY OF THE TURKISH POWER. 

secute, instead of Hungarian Protestants welcoming the Turk as a 
deliverer, the Christian subjects of the Turk welcomed every success 
of the imperial arms bringing deliverance to themselves. 

Besides Venice and Hungary, the Turks had wars with Poland 
and Russia, of which we shall say more presently. Notwithstanding 
some occasional successes, the Turkish power gave way at all these 
points. During this period wars with the Turks were going on at 
various points from Peloponnesos to the mouth of the Don. But the 
war in Hungary formed the centre of all. This was now the region 
where the great struggle between Turks and Christians was waged, 
and in that region at this time the Turkish frontier steadily went 
back. The wars of this time were like a vast battle, in which Venice 
at one end, Poland and Russia at the other, were attacking and 
defending this and that outpost, while the main struggle went on in 
the lands upon the Danube. 

We have seen that the conquests of Soliman left only a small part 
of Hungary to its nominal king the Emperor. The greater part of 
the land was ruled by a Turkish Pasha, while Transylvania and part 
of Hungary itself formed a vassal principality. The state of things 
in these lands often changed, and there were several wars in the 
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. But on the whole, the Turks 
kept their predominance in Hungary. In the latter half of the 
seventeenth century things began to change. In 1663, while the 
siege of Candia was still going on, when Mohammed IV. was Sultan 
and Leopold the First was Emperor and King of Hungary, a war 
began in which for the first time the Imperial arms had the advantage. 
The war was famous for the great battle of Saint Gotthard, fought in 
1664, in which the imperial general Motecuculi won a great victory 
over the Turks under the Vizier Koprili. This battle was by land 
much the same as Lepanta was by sea. It was the first great over¬ 
throw of the Turks; it therefore marks the turning-point in their 
history, for it was the beginning of a long series of victories over the 
Turks on the part both of the Emperors and of other Christian powers. 

The battle was followed by a truce for twenty years between the 
Emperor and the Turks. Meanwhile the affairs of the Cossacks, the 
wild people of the border-lands between Poland, Russia, and the 
Turkish vassal states north of the Euxine, led to wars both with 
Poland and Russia. The Polish war lasted from 1672 to 1676. In 


DFCA V OF THE TURKISH PO WER. 


323 


this, though the famous John Sobieski won several brilliant victories 
both before and after his election to the Polish crown, yet Poland lost 
the strong town of Kamenetz, and the whole province of Podolia. In 
this war both Sultan Mohammed and his Minister Koprili had a 
share. Its issue is instructive. Sobieski won battles, but the Turks 
kept Podolia. For the Turks were just now ruled, in the person of 
Koprili, by a single wise and strong will, while, though the Poles are 
one of the bravest nations on earth, yet the weak and disorderly 
nature of their government made them constantly lose in other ways 
what they won in fighting. In the Russian war, the first war of any 
moment between Russia and the Turk, the Sultan, who had just won 
a superiority over the Cossacks of Ukraine from the Poles, lost it 
again to the Russians. But the real beginnings of the struggle 
between Russia and the Turk come a few years later, though still 
within the times with which we aie dealing. It will be better to go 
back to what were at the time the more important wars in Hungary 
and Greece. 

We have already seen that the religious intolerance of the Austrian 
Kings in Hungary gave a great advantage to the Turks, and that it 
often made the Protestants of Hungary think, with good reason, that 
the rule of the Turk was the less heavy bondage of the two. No king 
did himself and his subjects more harm in this way than the Emperor 
Leopold I. His persecutions, and the revolts to which they led, laid 
not only Hungary but the Empire itself open to the Turks. Moham¬ 
med IV. was still Sultan; but he had lost his wise minister Koprili, 
and the present vizier, Kara Mustapha, was fond of planning enterpri¬ 
ses too great for his power to carry out. It was he who had con¬ 
ducted the unsuccessful war with Russia; now in 1682 he undertook, 
not only to complete the conquest of Hungary, but once more, like 
Soliman, to invade Germany itself. In 1683 the Turks again besieged 
Vienna, and the city was saved, not at all bv the Emperor, but by 
John Sobieski and his Poles. Austria and Hungary were in truth 
delivered from the Turk by the swords of a Slavonic people, the 
people of a kingdom which within a hundred years Austria helped^ 
to dismember. A war now went on, which lasted till 1698. The 
Turks were gradually driven out of Hungary. In this war Sobieski 
at the beginning, and Prince Eugene of Savoy in its later stages, 
won some of their most famous victories. It might at the time be 


324 


DECAY OF THE TURKISH POWER. 


doubted whether Hungary gained much by being delivered from the 
Turk, only to be put under such a king as Leopold. No doubt 
Hungary has had much to complain of at the hands of her Austrian 
kings; but the same rule applies here as everywhere else. The 
Christian government can amend and reform; the Mohammedan gov¬ 
ernment cannot. During the reign of the next Sultan, Soliman II., 
came the administration of another Koprili, the one who has been 
already mentioned as one of the very few Turkish rulers who ever 
really thought of the welfare of the Christians under Turkish rule. 

While the centre, as we may call it, of the general Christian army 
was thus victoriously bearing the main brunt of the strife in Hungary, 
much was also done by what we may call the two wings, the ancient 
power of Venice, the seemingly new, but really only revived, power 
of Russia. It was now that Venice began to play a great part on the 
mainland of Greece. We have seen that PeloponnSsos had wholly 
fallen into the hands of the Turks, the greater part under Mohammed 
and the little that was left by him under Soliman. But in some of 
the wilder parts of the country, as in the peninsula of Maina, the 
Christians long kept a rude independence. It was not till 1614 that 
the people of Maina were compelled to pay the haratch , the tribute 
by which the non-Mussulman buys the right to toleration at the hands 
of the Mussulman. The Greek coasts were often visited by Spanish 
and other European ships in their wars with the Turk, so that the 
Greek inhabitants really suffered instead of their masters. At last, 
in the year after the siege of Vienna, when the Turkish power was 
giving way in Hungary, it seemed a good time for Venice to strike a 
blow. So in 1684 the great Venetian commander, Francesco Morosini, 
who was chosen Doge in the course of the war, began the conquest of 
the peninsula. It was thought that Peloponnesos would be more 
easily held than Crete. The Venetian forces, with help from other 
parts of Europe, conquered all Peloponnesos. The war also went on 
in Attica and Euboia: Athens was taken, and it was in this siege that 
the Parthenon was ruined. It had been a church under the Emper¬ 
ors and under the Frank Eukes; but the Turks had turned it into a 
powder magazine, and a falling shell caused an explosion which broke 
it down. But the Venetians were not able to keep anything beyond 
the isthmus; Peloponnesos itself they did keep for a while. Thus 
a large part of Greece was placed under a government which if not 


DECAY OF THE TURKISH POWER. 


325 



national, was at least civilized. The Greeks at this time had no hope 
for anything better than a change of masters. But the Venetian was 
at least a better master than the Turk: Peloponuesos passed under 
political bondage to the republic; but its people were saved from 
personal oppression and degradation. 

But meanwhile events were happening in what we may call the other 
wing of the great battle, which were the beginning of much that has 















326 DEC A Y OF THE TURKISH PO WER. 

gone on with increasing importance down to our own time. This is the 
beginning of those long wars between Russia and the Turk at which 
we have already glanced. At the time which we have now reached, 
two of the great seats of the Tartar power, at Kasan and at Astrakhan, 
had long been held by Russia. But the Tartars of the peninsula of 
Crimea and the neighboring lands still remained. And, as long as they 
remained, Russia, whose fleet had in old times sailed over the Euxine 
to attack Constantinople, was thoroughly cut off from that sea. The 
Khans of the Crimea had been vassals of the Sultans ever since the 
time of Mohammed the Conqueror, and their affairs, and those of the 
Cossacks to the north of them, led to disputes between Russia, Poland, 
and the Turks. Hitherto the Euxine had been wholly under the 
power of the Turks, and was chiefly used for their trade in slaves. 
No European nation had had any commerce there since Mohammed 
the Conqueror had taken the Genoese possessions in the Crimea. The 
object of Russia was now for a long time to get free access to the sea, 
which the Turks of course tried to keep to themselves. This strife 
was begun when Peter the Great took Azov in 1696. For a long 
while after that time the possession of Azov, as the key of the Euxine, 
was the great point of contention between Russia and the Turks. It 
was disputed with fluctuating success during a great part of the next 
century. 

Thus, at the end of the seventeenth century, the Turks had been at 
war with all their Christian neighbors, and they had lost territory at 
all points except one. They had gained Podolia; but they had lost 
Peloponnesos, Hungary, and Azov. Most of these territories they 
formally gave up by treaties in 1699 and 1700. The peace of Carlo- 
witz in 1699 marks a point in the history, or more truly in the decline 
of the Ottoman power. Up to this time the Sultans had deemed 
themselves the superiors of all European princes, and had treated 
their ambassadors with great haughtiness. Sometimes they imprisoned 
ambassadors, and dealt in other ways contrary to the received law of 
nations. Strictly following the law of their own Prophet, they would 
not make peace with any Christian power; they would only grant 
truces. Now in the reigjn of Mustapha II., they were driven to treat 
with European powers on equal terms, and formally to give up terri¬ 
tory. They formally ceded Peloponnesos to Venice, and gave back 
Podolia to Poland. But, oddly enough, it was not a peace forever. 




DECAY OF THE TURKISH POWER. 327 

but only a truce for twenty-five years, which was concluded between 
the Turk and the power which had won most back from him. By this 
truce the Turks gave up all Hungary, except the district called the 
Banat of Temesvar, with Transylvania and the greater part of Sla¬ 
vonia. This treaty, it should be remarked, was concluded under the 
mediation of England and the United Provinces. This shows that 
we have now got to the beginnings of modern diplomacy. Russia 
was not a party to the Peace of Carlowitz; but she concluded an 
armistice for two years, which in the next year was changed into a 
thirty years’ truce. By this truce Russia kept Azov. 

The Turkish power thus received one of the heaviest blows that was 
ever dealt to it. From that blow it has never really recovered. The 
power of the Turk has never again been what it was before the wars 
which were ended by the Peace of Carlowitz. But we have already 
said that the Ottoman power, just like the Byzantine power before it, 
had times of revival, which alternated with times of decay. So 
through a great part of the eighteenth century the Turks were still 
able to win victories, and, though they won no new ground, they 
sometimes won back a good deal of what they had lost. There soon 
were wars again between the Turks and all their European enemies, 
except Poland, whose day of greatness has now come quite to an end. 
War with Russia broke out again in 1711, and this time the Turks 
had the better. By the treaty of the Pruth, Azov was restored to the 
Turk. This was followed by the Turkish conquest of Peloponn6sos, 
Tenos, and whatever else Venice held on the Eastern side of Greece 
in 1715. The Turks went on to threaten Corfu and Dalmatia; but 
in 1716 the Emperor Charles VI., who of course was also King of Hun¬ 
gary, made an alliance with Venice. Charles VI. was more powerful 
than any Emperor had been since Charles V. Men began to hope 
that the Turks might be altogether conquered, and that a Christian 
Emperor might again reign at Constantinople. This indeed did not 
happen; but the Imperial armies, under Prince Eugene, made large 
conquests from the Turks. The small part of Hungary and Slavonia 
which the Turks kept was won back, and Belgrade, with a large part 
of Servia, a small strip of Bosnia, and the western part of Wallachia, 
became part of the dominions of the House of Austria. Things were 
now different from what they had been under Leopold. Every inch 
of territory won from the Turk was so much won for eivilization and 





328 


DEC A Y OF THE TURKISH PO WER. 


comparative good government, and the Imperial armies were welcomed 
as deliverers by the people of the lands which they set free. By the 
Peace of Passarowitz, in 1718, made for another term of twenty-five 
years, all these conquests were confirmed to the Emperor. But he 
shamefully neglected the interests of Venice, and Peloponn^os was 
again confirmed to the Turk, when there were hopes of winning it 
hack. 

Venice now, as a power, passes out of our story, though we shall 
hear again of the fate of what was left of her Eastern possessions. 
Through the rest of the eighteenth century Austria and Bussia are the 
powers which keep up the struggle; in the nineteenth century it is" 
Russia only. 

There is no need to go through every detail of war and diplomacy 
in these times, but only to mark those events which form real land¬ 
marks in the decline of the Turkish power. Thus it has no bearing 
on our subject, though we may mark it for its very strangeness, that 
in the latter days of Peter the Great the Czar and the Sultan joined 
together to make conquests from Persia. And when the war began 
again in Europe, the tide seemed at first to have turned to the side of 
the Turks. Russia was eager to get back Azov, and the Emperor 
Charles was ready to go on with the conquests which had begun early 
in his reign. 

War began again on the part of Russia in 1735, and of Austria in 
1737. The Russians made conquests, but did not keep them; and, 
now that the Emperor Charles had no longer a great general like 
Eugene, he lost much of what he had won in the earlier war. By the 
peace of Belgrade, in 1739, Belgrade, with all that had been won in 
Servia, Bosnia, and Wallachia was given back by the Emperor to the 
Turk. In the next war between Austria and the Turk, which was 
waged in the last years of the Emperor Joseph the Second, Belgrade 
was again taken, and other conquests were made; but nearly all was 
given back by the Emperor Leopold the Second at the Peace of 
Sistova in 1791, when the Turk again got Belgrade. In this last 
war the Servians fought most gallantly on the imperial side, and 
learned much military discipline. But, as usual, they were made the 
playthings of policy in other directions, and were shamefully given 
up to their cruel masters. 

The war which was ended by the Peace of Sistova was the last of 








DECAY OF THE TURKISH POWER. 


829 



An Egyptian Orchestra. 


the wars between the Turks and the Emperors of the House of Austria 
for the possession of Hungary, Servia, and the other lands on the 
Danube. The result of all these wars was that Hungary was freed 
from the Turk, but that Servia and Bosnia were left in his clutches. 



























330 


DEC A Y OF THE TURKISH PO WER. 


But it must always be borne in mind that all these lands alike, ' 
Hungary, Servia, and the rest, hi ve been lost and won again in 
exactly the same way. The frontier which now divides the Hun- \ 
garian kingdom from the Turk is simply the result of the successive 
victories and defeats of the Austrian arms, from the deliverance of , 
Vienna in 1683 to the betrayal of Belgrade in 1791. There is no * 
reason but the accidents of those wars, the accident that Charles VI. . 
had a great general early in his reign and had no great general in his 
later years, to account for the fact, that part of the lands on the ^ 
Danube are now under a civilized government, while part are left 
under the Turk. 

The wars between Austria and the Turk are thus ended. They 
ended in establishing the frontier which remains still, except so far as 
one of the lands which were given up to the Turk has won its freedom 
for itself. But the wars between the Turk and Russia still went on. i 
As long as the Austrian wars went on, there was commonly a Russian 
war at the same time, while there were other wars with Russia in ■ 
which Austria had no share. Thus, at the Peace of Belgrade in 1736, j 
when Austria gave up so much, it was agreed that the fortifications of - 
Azov should be destroyed, and that Russia should be shut out from 
the Euxine. It was not till the reign of Catherine II. that the real 
advance of Russia began. The first war of her reign began with the 
declaration of war by the Turk in 1768, and it was ended by the 
famous treaty of Kainardshe in 1774. Two points are specially to be 
noticed in the wars which now begin. This first war had a special 
effect in stirring up the Greeks to revolt. A Russian fleet appeared in 
the ACgsean, and the Greeks of PeloponnSsos rose against their oppres¬ 
sors. They were badly used by Russia, just as the Servians were by 
Austria; they were by no means backed up as they ought to have 
been against the Turks, or protected from their vengeance. Still it 
was a great thing for the Greeks again to feel that their masters had 
powerful enemies, and that they themselves could do something against 
their masters. And now too the people of Montenegro begin to play 
a part in all the wars against the Turk. They had always kept their 
own independence by endless fighting. Their land had been often 
overrun, but it was never really conquered. Montenegro was now 
under the rule of its Bishops, who, somewhat strangely according to 
our notions, acted also as civil and military chiefs. Russia had long 


DECAY OF THE TURKISH POWER. 331 

given the Montenegrins a certain measure of help and encouragement, 
and in all the wars from this time, Montenegro, as an Orthodox land 
always at war with the Turk, was found a useful ally. 

The treaty of Kaniardshe, which finished this war, marks an import¬ 
ant stage in the history. The Ottoman power was now for the first 
time brought into some measure of dependence. By this treaty Russia 
at last gained the long disputed possession of Azov, with some other 
points on the Euxine, and the Tartars of the Crimea were recognized 
as a state independent of the Turk. It is worth notice that, by the 
treaty, the spiritual authority of the Sultan, as Caliph of the Prophet, 
was fully recognized on behalf of these Tartars, at the same time that 
they were released from his temporal authority. The principalities of 
Wallachia and Moldavia were restored to the Turk, on condition of 
his observing their ancient privileges and at the same time acknow¬ 
ledging a right in Russia to remonstrate in case of any breach of them. 
Russia was acknowledged by this treaty as the protector of the Christian 
subjects of the Turk; in truth the principle was proclaimed, though 
not in so many words, that Turkish rule was something different from 
anything that we understand by government. It was practically 
proclaimed that those whom he called his subjects had need of the 
protection of another power against the man who called himself their 
sovereign. Both at the time and ever after, this treaty has been 
looked on as the beginning of the fall of the dominion of the Turk. 
For it did in truth make the Ottoman power in some sort dependent 
on Russia; ever since the power of the Turk has steadily gone down 
and the power of Russia has steadily advanced, and we must set down 
every advance made by Russia at the cost of the Turk as, indirectly 
at least, a step towards the deliverance of the subject nations. 

After the Treaty of Kainardshe those steps pressed fast upon one 
another. In 1783 the Crimea was altogether incorporated with Russia, 
which thus at last obtained a great seaboard on the Euxine. This 
was one of those things which could not fail to happen. The Tartars 
of the Crimea could not possibly continue as an independent state. It 
was something like Texas, which, when it was cut off from Mexico, 
could not fail to be joined to the United States. Russia, a growing 
power, could not be kept back from the sea. The next war, from 
1787 to 1791, was the last in which Austria shared, that which was 
ended by the Peace of Sistova, when Belgrade was last given back to 


332 


DECAY OF THE TURKISH POWER. 


the Turk. It almost seemed as if, between the two Christian powers, 
the Turk would have been altogether crushed. But, as w*e have seen, 
the Emperor Leopold drew back, and the loss of the Austrian alliance, 
together with the general state of affairs in Europe, caused Russia to 
draw back also. Still this war gave Russia the famous fortress of 
Otshakov and advanced the Russian frontier to the Dniester. Russia 
thus gained, but Christendom lost. For this increase of the territory 4 
of Russia did not mean the deliverance of any Christian people, while 1 
the surrender of Belgrade was the betrayal of a Christian city to the 
barbarians. It did not perhaps much matter when Russia ended a 
war in which Montenegro had helped her without making stipulations 
on behalf of Montenegro. For the Montenegrins could help them¬ 
selves and keep their own borders. It was different when Greeks 
and Servians, who had helped Russia and Austria, were again left 
under the rule of the Turk. Still the whole course of events helped r 
to raise the hopes of the subject nations, and to make them feel their 
strength. Before the next war between Russia and the Turk began, 
one of the subject nations had done great things for its own delV* 



Exterior of a Modern Turkish House. 























REVOLTS AGAINST THE OTTOMAN ROWER. 


333 


CHAPTER XIX. 

REVOLTS AGAINST THE OTTOMAN POWER 

The surrender of Belgrade to the Turk was the last and the most 
shameful act of the wars between the Turk and the Emperors. As 
soon as the Servians were given back to the Turk after a taste of 
civilized government, they found themselves worse off than ever. 
The Emperor, in giving up Belgrade, did indeed stipulate for an 
amnesty for the Servians who had acted on his side; but just at that 
moment amnesties and stipulations of any kind did not count for 
much. It would have been a hard fate, if men who had been once set 
free had been given back to one of the great Sultans, or even to one 
of the Saracen Caliphs. But a harder fate than either was in store 
for the Servians whom the Peace of Sistova gave back to the Turk. 
The greater part of the Ottoman dominion was now in a state of utter 
anarchy. Servia was in the hands of local military chiefs, the leaders 
of the rebellious Janissaries. In some parts bands of men which 
might be called armies w T ent about taking towns and ravaging the 
country at pleasure. Brave men among the Christians took to a life of 
wild independence, throwing off, for themselves at least, the Turkish 
yoke altogether. In other parts the Sultans found it necessary to 
allow the Christians to bear arms, in defence alike of themselves and 
of the Sultan’s authority against Mussulman rebels. Thus, in all 
these ways, the subject nations were gaining courage and were learn¬ 
ing the use of arms. And it must be remembered that now the 
bravest and strongest of their children were no longer taken from 
them, but were left to grow up as leaders of their countrymen. In 
such a state of things as this, the rule of the Sultan, where it was to 
be had, was the least of many evils. We therefore sometimes actually 
find an alliance between the Sultan and the Christians against their 
local oppressors. This was the case in Servia. The Servians, under 
the yoke of their local oppressors, cried to the Sultan for help, and the- 
Sultan was for a while disposed to favor their efforts against his rebel- 
. lious officers. But the war against local oppressors gradually swelled 
into a war against the chief oppressor himself. The war which began 



in 1804 with an appeal to the Sultan against local oppressors grew in 
the next year into war with the Sultan himself, which led in the end 
to the deliverance of Servia. 


By this time the affairs of Servia, and of the subject nations gener¬ 
ally, were getting mixed up, in a way in which they had not been 
before, with the general affairs of Europe. It was not now merely 
the powers whose dominions bordered on those of the Turk, but 
Western powers like France and England, which came to have a 
direct share in the affairs of the Southeastern lands. After the 
surrender of Belgrade, but before the Servian revolt really began, 
Russia and the Turk had become allies. The revolutionary French, 




































REVOLTS AGAINST THE OTTOMAN POWER. 


335 


under Bonaparte, had in 1798 attacked Egypt, and this led the Turk 
into an alliance with Russia and England. Oddly enough, one result 
of this alliance between a Mussulman, a Protestant, and an Orthodox 
power was to set up again for a little while the temporal dominion of 
the Pope which the French had upset. At a later stage, in 1805, 
Russia again demanded a more distinct acknowledgment of the Rus¬ 
sian protectorate over the Christians. Sultan Selim wept, and pres¬ 
ently came under the influence of France, which power, by annexing 
the Illyrian provinces of Austria, had become his neighbor. Selim 
presently, Turk-like, broke his faith by deposing the princes of Walla- 
chia and Moldavia contrary to treaty, and now England and Russia 
were both armed against him. The barbarian bragged as usual, and 
this time with more reason than usual. A Turkish fleet was burned 
in the Propontis by the English; a little more energy, and Constanti¬ 
nople might have been taken, and Europe might have been cleansed 
of Asiatic intruders. Later still, when Bonaparte and Alexander of 
Russia were for a while friends, there were further schemes for getting 
rid of the Turk altogether, and for dividing his dominions between 
Russia, Austria, and France. Such a division would doubtless have 
been an immediate gain for the subject nations. Any civilized mas¬ 
ters, Russian, Austrian, or French, would have been better than the 
Turks, even under a reforming Selim. But for some at least of the 
subject nations better things were in store. They were, partly by 
their own valor, partly by help from Christian nations, to be raised to 
a state in which they had no need to acknowledge any masters at all. 

The war between Russia and the Turk went on till it was ended in 
1812 by the Peace of Bucharest. By that peace Russia kept Bessa¬ 
rabia and all Moldavia east of the Pruth, which river became the 
boundary instead of the Dniester. The war concerns us chiefly so 
far as its course influenced the course of the war between the Turk 
and the Servian patriots. Whenever Selim was frightened by the 
advance of Russia, he made promises to the Servians; whenever he 
thought that he had a chance against Russia, he withdrew or broke 
his promises. Up to 1805 the Servian war was not strictly war against 
the Sultan, it was a war against the Sultan’s rebellious enemies. 
Under their leader, Czerni, Kara, or Black George, the Servians 
fought valiantly against their local tyrants, but they tried to make 
favorable terms with the Sultan through the mediation of Russia. 



330 


RE VOL TS AGAINST 7 HE 0 ITOMAN TOWER. 


Selim, instead of granting any terms, attacked the men who had been 
fighting against his enemies. But Czerui George and the other Ser¬ 
vian chiefs crushed his forces right and left, and the Russian army 
was on the march. Selim offered to let Serna go free in everything, 
except payment of tribute and keeping a small Turkish garrison in 
Belgrade. But, as soon as Selim heard of the French successes against 
Russia, he retracted his promises and went on with the war. Pres¬ 
ently, in 1807, Selim was deposed and soon after murdered, as was 
also Mustapha who was set up in his stead. Then, in 1808, began the 
reign of the fierce Mahmoud II., another Turkish reformer, the nature 
of whose reforms are well remembered by the people of Chios. The 
war went on till the peace with Russia in 181*2. That treaty contained 
some provisions on behalf of Servia which were meant to make Servia 
a tributary state, free from all Turkish interference in its internal 
affairs. But now the Turk no longer feared Russia; he feared her 
still less when Bonaparte was marching against her. Mahmoud there¬ 
fore thought himself strong enough to break the treaty. Servia was 
attacked again; Czerni George lost heart, and took shelter in the 
Austrian, dominions. Servia was conquered, and the old tyranny was 
brought back again. Her first deliverer had fled; but a new deliverer 
arose in Milosh Obrenovich. He gradually won the freedom of the 
land, and in 1817 he was chosen Prince. Servian affairs dragged on 
for several years; this and that agreement was made with the Turk, 
but none were fully carried out. By the treaty of Akerman, in 1826, 
Mahmoud consented to Servian independence. The land was to be 
free, excepting only the payment of tribute and the keeping of Turkish 
garrisons in certain fortresses; but it was not till the treaty of Adrian- 
ople in 1829 that the provisions for the independence of Servia were 
really carried out. 

Since then Servia has been a separate state under its own princes; 
but more than one change of dynasty has taken place between Milosh 
and his descendants and the descendants of Czerni George. The land 
has flourished and advanced in every way, as it never could have done 
under Turkish masters. The Prince of Servia rules over a free people. 
But for a long time freedom was imperfect, as long as the Turks kept 
garrisons in Belgrade and other fortresses. In 1862 Servia had a 
proof that, where the Turkish soldier.is allowed to tread, he will do as 
he has ever done. A brutal outrage of the usual Turkish kind on a 


REVOLTS AGAINST 7l/E OTTOMAN POWER. 


337 



Turkish Fountain. 


young Servian was resisted; the barbarian garrison presently bom¬ 
barded Belgrade. Diplomacy dragged on its weary course; but at 
last, after five years, Servia was wholly freed from the presence of the 
enemy. The Turkish troops were withdrawn, and since then Servia 
has been wholly free, saving the tribute which goes, which sometimes 
does not go, from the purses of her free children, for the tyrant whose 
yoke she has thrown off to squander on his vices and follies. 

The Greek revolution began in 1821. It was mainly the work of 
the Greeks themselves, counting among them, the Christian Albanians. 
They had some help, but not very much, from the other subject 
nations. The Servians had their own war of independence going on ; 
but a few Bulgarian and Rouman volunteers did good service in 
Greece. But more was done by volunteers from England, France, and 
other western countries. Lord Byron’s name is well known as one 
who in his latter days gave himself for the Greek cause. And great 
things were done by the Greeks and Albanians themselves, as by the 
Souliot hero Mark Botzares, and by Alexander Mavrokordatos, who 
was not a military man, but a Fanariot of Constantinople, almost the 
only one of that class who did anything. He bravely defended Mis- 
solonghi against the Turks in one of its two sieges. In short, among 
many ups and downs, the Greeks, with such help as they had, were 
able to hold the greater part of Greece itself against the Turks. 

After the war had gone on for some years, Sultan Mahmoud found 

22 




























338 RE VOL TS AGAINST THE OTTOMAN POWER. 

that neither his massacres in other places nor the armies which he 
sent against Greece itself could break the spirit of the Greek people. 
Greece at one end, Servia at the other end, were too strong for him. 
He had to send for what w T as really foreign help. In the break-up of 
the Turkish power, Mehemet Ali, the Pasha of Egypt, had made 
himself practically independent of the Sultan. Mahmoud, in order to 
bring back the Greeks under his yoke, had to humble himself to ask 
for help of his rebellious vassal. In a war against Christians, where 
plunder and slaves might be had, Mehemet-Ali was ready to help; so 
he sent his son Ibrahim with an Egyptian force. The Greeks, who 
had held their ground against the Turks alone, found Turks and 
Egyptians together too strong for them. Ibrahim acted on the 
principle of making the land a desert, by slaying or enslaving the 
whole Christian population. Thus he went on, committing every kind 
of crime and outrage in Crete, Peloponnesos, and elsewhere, from 1824 
to 1827. 

In 1826 England and Russia agreed on a scheme for the liberation 
of Greece which was distinctly drawn up, not in the narrow interests 
of England or of Russia, but in the interests of humanity. Both 
powers disclaimed any advantage for themselves; they sought the 
advantage of others and of humanity in general. Greece was to 
become a separate tributary state, like Servia. Presently Mahmoud 
signed the treaty of Akerman with Russia, which is an important 
stage in the history of all the principalities on the Danube; but with 
regard to Greece Mahmoud w r as obstinate. 

In July, 1827, England, France, and Russia signed the Treaty of 
London, by which they bound themselves to compel the Turk, by 
force if it should be needful, to acknowledge the freedom of Greece. 
In November was fought the great battle of Navarino. Three great 
European powers joined their forces to crush the power of the bar¬ 
barian and to set free his victims. The Turkish and Egyptian fleet 
w T as destroyed and Greece was saved. Mahmoud had to yield, and by 
accepting the Treaty of London, to consent to the liberation of Greece. 

The pride of the Turk was utterly humbled; his power was utterly 
broken and a large part of his dominions was taken from him. Servia 
and Greece were now free; Greece became not only free, but altogether 
independent. This last w r as a special humbling of Mahmoud’s pride. 
He had insolently said that he would allow no interference between 


REVOLTS AGAINST THE OTTOMAN POWER. 


339 


him and those whom he called his subjects. He was presently driven 
to acknowledge the independence of those subjects, to deal with them 
as an independent power, to receive a minister from them, and to send 
a minister to them. 

Sultan Mahmoud, who had shown himself one of the bloodiest 
tyrants in history, set up in his later days for a reformer, and put 
forth proclamations, promising all kinds of good government to his 
subjects of all religions. But while his pretended reforms did little 
good to the Christians, they set his Mohammedan subjects against him. 
There were Mohammedan revolts in Bosnia, Albania, and other parts, 
and Mehemet-Ali of Egypt began to found a dominion of his own, at 
the expense of the Ottoman Turks. He held Egypt and Crete, and 
presently conquered Syria. As usual, the rule of the new despot was 
not so bad as that of the old one. Mehemet was a tyrant of that kind 
which will not endure smaller tyrants; so he established, if not really 
good government, at least something of stern order in his dominions. 

Mahmoud was succeeded in 1839, by Abdul Medjid, who gave 
promise at first of an efficient administration, but soon surrendered 
himself to voluptuous pleasures. The Christians were everywhere 
ill-treated, and appealed in vain for protection. At last they presented 
tlieir complaints to Emperor Nicholas of Russia, who gave to them an 
attentive ear. It had been a favorite idea of Peter I. and Catherine 
II. to embrace the Christian provinces of Turkey within their domin¬ 
ions, and to expel the Turks from Southeastern Europe. This project 
now began to occupy the mind of Nicholas, and was even discussed 
with England. The Russian Emperor finally made an open demand 
for the protectorate over all the Christians in Turkey, in March, 1853, 
and to support his demands a Russian army of eighty thousand men 
occupied the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. 

The Turks declared war against Russia in October, 1853, and in 
March of the following year, England and France came to their 
assistance. A few months later, Sardinia joined the alliance. The 
war was ended by the treaty of Paris in 1856, by which a portion of 
Bessarabia was ceded to Moldavia and Wallachia. By the terms of 
the treaty the latter were required to acknowledge the authority of the 
sublime Porte, but were, at the same time, taken under the protection 
of the Western powers; and the Christian subjects of the Sultan were 
accorded equal rights with the Mohammedans. 


340 


REVOLTS AGAINST THE OTTOMAN POWER. 


Since 1856 there have been several revolts of the subject nations, 
and several wars have been waged by the Turks against the independent 
state of Montenegro. 

During the reign of Abdul-Aziz, which began in 1861, the people 
of Crete revolted, and kept up a gallant struggle from 1866 to 1868. 
They were in the end conquered, and there foLowed a long and cruel 
war of persecution by the Turks. Other disturbances took place during 
this reign, resulting from various causes; and since 1875 there have 
been open revolts in Herzegovina, Bosnia, and Bulgaria; and the 
Turks have been involved in war with Montenegro and Servia, which 
will be more fully detailed in subsequent pages. 



Interior of a Modern Turkish House. 



























THE TURKISH ADMINISTRATION. 


341 


CHAPTER XX. 

the Turkish Administration. 

The Ottoman Empire, comprising all its provinces, in Europe and 
in Asia, under the immediate rule of the Sultan at Constantinople, 
has a total population estimated at twenty-eight millions and a half. 
Thirteen millions and a half are considered to be of the Ottoman 
Turkish nation, of whom less than two millions are found in European 
Turkey. The Mussulman population, in all, numbers about eighteen 
or nineteen millions, including, besides the Ottoman Turks, over four 
millions of Turcomans, Arabs, Albanians, Kurds, and Circassians, 
mixed up with others in different parts, and probably half a million 
of the Bulgarian and Slav races, more especially in Bosnia, who have 
adopted the religion of their conquerors. The ten millions of people 
reckoned as Christians are divided chiefly between the Orthodox or 
Greek-Russian Church, the Armenian, and the Bulgarian ecclesias¬ 
tical communions, with over half a million Roman Catholics, and a 
few Nestorians or Jacobites, besides the Jews and Gypsies. In gen¬ 
eral, throughout the Turkish Empire there is perfect liberty of 
religious worship; but the non-Mussulman Churches and sects are not 
allowed to make converts by the open preaching of their doctrines in 
public. The Christians, of whatsoever race, indiscriminately called 
Rayahs, are excluded from civil offices and exempted from military 
service, instead of which they pay a certain tax in money; but they 
are allowed to manage their own affairs in small local communities, 
free from Government interference. In all private and social relations 
amongst themselves, where none of their Mohammedan neighbors 
happen to be concerned, the Rayahs enjoy a large share of practical 
liberty, which they have used, in most instances, to prosper fairly by 
their agricultural, industrial, and trading occupations. The Bulga¬ 
rians in European Turkey, and the Armenians in Asia Minor, as well 
as at Constantinople, have long been accustomed to do nearly all the 
real steady work of farming, manufacturing, and ordinary labor; 
while the Greeks have followed the profitable pursuits of commerce 
and finance and all manner of intrigue. The Mussulman lords of 



342 


THE TURKISH ADMINISTRATION. 


this extensive region, as a general rule, are content to indulge their 
natural indolence, and their pride as a superior class of privileged 
proprietors, without producing any contribution to the wealth of the 
country. The Turkish or Syrian peasant will, of course, labor as 
much as he is obliged to do for his mere livelihood; and there are 
Mohammedan tradesmen and craftsmen, along with others, in the 
cities and towns of Turkey. But the Turkish rural landowner or 
squire, who is entitled Agha or Beg, has too high a sense of his 
personal dignity ever to condescend to useful business. These classes 
of the Turkish population are nevertheless equal, in most domestic 
and social virtues, though not in the virtue of industry, to those of 
any other nation. Their honesty, sobriety, and veracity, and their 
kindliness of disposition, when not inflamed by religious animosities, 
are fully attested by every foreign resident in Turkey. A very dif¬ 
ferent character is ascribed to the class of metropolitan Turks at 
Stamboul, the place-hunters, officials and courtiers of the Sultan’s 
Government, from whom the Pashas and Beys exercising power in his 
name are selected. There is probably not a more corrupt and worth¬ 
less set of men, intrusted with rule over their fellow-subjects, in any 
country of the world; extortionate, unjust, and cruel beyond our con¬ 
ception, and frequently addicted to the most infamous vices. This 
frightful demoralization of the Turkish governing class, which has not 
yet infected the whole Turkisn nation, is the result of four centuries 
of absolute domination. It is not the moral teaching of the Koran, 
though much harm is done by polygamy, chiefly practiced by men of 
wealth and rank; nor is it any inherent wickedness that has developed 
such monstrous governmental iniquity among the Ottoman lords of 
the East. They have become so depraved from the possession of 
despotic power, like the ancient Romans of the Western and Eastern 
Empire; and we have no reason to say that Englishmen or Americans, 
placed in the same position, would have behaved much better, unless 
restrained by the purifying influence of the Christian faith. 

These remarks will serve for an introduction to a brief account of 
the administration of the Turkish Empire. Its vast and various terri¬ 
tories, extending from the banks of the Danube and the shores of the 
Adriatic to those of the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, are divided 
into twenty-two Provinces, eight of them in Europe and fourteen in 
Asia. Those in Europe are the metropolitan district of Constantinople, 



to which is annexed the neighborhood of Scutari, on the Asiatic side 
of the Bosphorus; the province of Adrianople, including the better 
part of Roumelia or Thrace, limited northward by the Balkans; the 
Danubian province, called Touna, which extends from Varna, on the 
Black Sea coast, westward as far as Widdin, on the Danube, adjoin¬ 
ing the Servian and Roumanian frontiers; the province of Bosnia and 
that of Herzegovina, which occupy the northwestern corner of the 
Turkish Empire, adjacent to the Austrian dominions; the province 
of Salonica, including the ancient Macedonia, on the shores of the 
































344 


THE TURKISH ADMINISTRATION. 


Aegean Sea; the southwestern provinces of Monastir or Prisrend, and 
ofScodra and Yannina, or Albania and Epirus; besides which there 
is the island province of Crete or Candia, and one comprising the Greek 
isles of Rhodes, Chios, Mytilene, Cos, and Cyprus. There is a similar 
subdivision of Asia Minor, Syria, and Mesopotamia, into fourteen Pro¬ 
vinces. The most considerable are those of Aidin (with Smyrna), 
Aleppo, Bagdad, Trebizond, Erzeroum, Adana, Tripoli Syria, and 
Koordistan. The Governor of a Province or Vilayet is styled the Vali, 
and is usually a man of the rank of Pasha, but absolutely dependent on 
Court favor. He gets his appointment from the Council of State at 
Constantinople by dint of gross bribery, and his tenure of office 
being very short and uncertain, he strives to enrich himself as quickly 
as possible by every sort of trickery, and by squeezing the unfortunate 
people under his rule. Each Vilayet is further divided into five or 
six Livas or Sandjaks, which are managed respectively by their Mute- 
carrifs, under the general instructions of the Vali; and each Sandjak 
comprises so many Cazas, under their respective Caimacams, or Mu- 
shirs, these sub-governors being likewise appointed in Constantinople. 
Below this grade of Turkish Government officials, and their spheres 
of iniquitous oppression, are the Nahiehs, or Communes, each presided 
over by a Mayor, called the Mu dir, who is elected by the inhabitants, 
and who may be a Christian ; there are also the Codja-bashis, or head 
men of villages, under the orders of the Mudir. A Council, which in 
the Turkish language is a “ Medjliss,” and in which one or two Chris¬ 
tians may sit with a dozen Mohammedans, assists every grade of 
executive officials; the Vali has his Medjliss, including the provincial 
judges or Muftis; the Mutecarrif has his, consisting of the magistrates 
or Cadis, the leading clergymen, and four elected members; the Mushir 
or Caimacam, and the Mudir of a Commune, have similar nominal 
assistants. But it too often proves that the Medjliss is only a screen 
for the illegal and oppressive acts of the administration. The whole 
of this complicated machinery, in fact, is applied by the ruling Pasha 
to the purpose of extorting money, in a variety of irregular ways, but 
mainly by intimidation, from the more helpless classes of the Sultan’s 
subjects, and the Rayahs are most helpless, because their complaints 
will never be heard by the Sultan. 

With regard to the judicial system and the dispensation of civil ai.d 
criminal law, there is a distinct set of law courts, with peculiar 


THE TURKISH ADMINISTRATION. 


345 


jurisdiction, composed of Mussul¬ 
man and ,Christian Judges sitting 
together, for the trial of cases in 
which any of the Christian subjects 
of the Sultan are plaintiffs or de¬ 
fendants. The ordinary Moslem 
courts of law, which deal with all 
cases in which only Mussulman 
plaintiffs and defendants or accused 
persons and prosecutors, are con¬ 
cerned, have an entirely different 
character. They are composed of 
Mollahs, or Judges of the Law of 
the Koran, which is styled the 
Cher’i, and the supreme head of 
this learned body is the Sheikh-ul- 
Islam, who is at once Lord Chan¬ 
cellor and Primate of the Moham¬ 
medan Church. But the law deduced from the moral and religious 
precepts of Mohammedanism, by a succession of literary scholars and 
commentators since the Middle Ages, is now supplemented with rules 
derived from the old Roman or Civil Law of the Empire, and from 
j the French Code Napoleon; so that it is tolerably fit for application to 
modern secular affairs. The district judges of the Moslem law-courts 
are said to be men of tolerable integrity; and it seems to be acknow¬ 
ledged, on the whole, that the Turkish judiciary is much sounder than 
[ the administrative or executive branches of government. The Sheikh- 
ul-Islam, indeed, is a venerable personage at Stamboul, the organ of 
ecclesiastical and legal authority, placed high above those temptations 
of servility and venality which beset the Sultan’s courtiers, parasites, 
and Ministers of State. The Mollahs, and the various degrees of 
rabbis, teachers, scribes, and lawyers, constitute a fairly respectable 
corporation, with the Sheikh-ul-Islam at their head, willing to exert 
their influence for the protection of good Mussulman subjects against 
the abuses governmental, unfortunate Christians, and power. But the 
Jews have no such effectual protection. The Patriarch of the Greek 
Church has usually been a mere instrument of Turkish tyranny. The 
Bulgarian national Church, till lately overborne and suppressed by 



Oriental Form of Worship. 
















346 


THE TURKISH ADMINISTRATION. 


the Greek, has regained its ecclesiastical independence, blit the chief 
of its hierarchy does not possess any credit or influence with the 
Sultan’s Government; nor can the Armenian Patriarch or the Jewish 
Chief Rabbi interfere on behalf of their fellow-religionists with any 
hope of obtaining redress. 

The source, indeed, of all that is evil in the home administration of 
the Turkish Empire will be found in its being absolutely centralized in 
the will of an autocratic ruler, who is incapable, from hereditary indo¬ 
lence and necessary ignorance, of really governing by himself, and must 
therefore commit his power to the hands of a few men about his Court, 
who do not care how sorely the non-Mussulman subjects are oppressed. 
This negative condition alone, even without the shameless profligacy 
and ruthless rapacity of Ministers and Pashas, corrupting and per¬ 
verting the entire administration of Turkey, would seem to make it 
hopeless that equal justice can ever be done to Christians and Moham¬ 
medans under the Sultan’s reign. The Christians of every race and 
class in Turkey are still treated as a conquered people, to be fleeced, 
insulted and kept in perpetual degradation, by their Moslem con¬ 
querors, though four or five centuries have elapsed since the date of 
their conquest. 

The modern institution of the Medjlisses, or provincial and municipal 
councils, has only made the state of things worse than before. In the 
absence of a free press and an expression of public opinion, the working 
of these municipal councils, so fine in theory, does but multiply the 
oppressors of the people. Instead of one great tyrant, there are fifty 
smaller ones, each bent on enriching himself at the expense of the 
community. The mudir appointed at Constantinople may possibly be 
an honest man, and may have come with a determination to resist 
oppression, but no sooner does he attempt to thwart the designs of the 
Medjliss than the members unite against him, and send to Con¬ 
stantinople a “ mazbata” or round-robin—an instrument of irresistible 
force in Turkey—praying for his removal, and accusing him of all 
sorts of crimes and misdemeanors. This petition is always attended 
to, since the mudirlik is a most valuable piece of patronage at Con¬ 
stantinople, for it brings in a certain money value to some great Pasha, 
who sits in his “ yali ” on the Bosphorus and dispenses places at so 
many thousand piastres each. 

The theory of the election of the members of the Medjliss is that the 


THE TURKISH ADMINISTRATION. 


347 


notables of the town are elected by the popular voice; but in reality 
they are always the creatures of the Pasha. In these municipal 
couucils Christians are supposed by very credulous Ottomaniacs to 
have a voice; we believe that one or two are admitted to a seat in the 
Medjliss of the Pashalik, to carry out a theory; but we never heard 
of one being hardy enough to open his mouth. The Medjliss, or 
Council of the Mushir, regulates the taxes, sending the demand for 
the sum required to the Kaimakams; these apportion it to the mudirs, 
who divide and apportion so much to each muktar, or chief of a village, 
who must collect the money. The municipal councils also fix the 
price of bread, corn, and other commodities for their own district. 
Unfortunately for the sake of justice and fair play, the members of 
this council are always tradesmen, and generally contrive the prices to 
suit their own advantage. They also hear criminal cases, and farm 
the taxes. When any public works are undertaken the Medjliss fixes 
the price of labor and the number of men to be employed. These 
latter are supposed to give their time and labor in lieu of taxes; and 
in no department is there such injustice and plunder. The bill of 
costs to the Government is signed by each member of the Medjliss, 
each taking his share of the proceeds of peculation. All the wrongs, 
the unjust exaction of labor, double taxation, truck system, and other 
burdens grievous to be borne, fall on the unfortunate peasant, who is 
thereby ground down to the lowest stage of poverty, and can never 
hope to improve his position. 

The criminal cases are tried before the Medjliss, the money cases by 
the Kaimakam, or Cadi; and these latter are entitled to five per cent, 
on the sum awarded to the successful client, when the debt is above a 
certain amount. Collusion frequently occurs; a false charge is made 
by a man, the debt is awarded to him, and the corrupt judge receives 
his five per cent, or more. If a Turk is condemned to pay a Christian 
he refuses to submit to the decision of the Cadi, and carries his case to 
the “MehkemA” This is a tribunal of which the Cadi is the president, 
and of which the decisions are guided entirely by the Koran, the 
Mufti being referred to in cases of difficulty. Here the Christian is^ 
not recognized as a fellow-citizen; he is a “rayah,” or conquered being, 
whose existence is only tolerated byTiis paying a ransom yearly for his 
head, called a “haratch.” It would be monstrous, indeed a great sin, 
to admit his evidence; therefore the Mussulman’s “yea or nay” is 


THE TURKISH ADMINISTRATION. 


348 

sufficient to overthrow all Christian asseverations or testimony. In 
February, 1854, a firman was published, to the effect that Christians 
were henceforward to be considered as fellow-citizens, and their “ infor¬ 
mation” taken in all courts of justice throughout the Empire. This 
new law was published in the European papers, and sundry hopeful 
comments were made upon it; but we know by subsequent events that 
it was never intended to be acted upon. Christians are constantly 
wronged, but we have never hea'd of their evidence being taken. 
Each Pasha, when questioned concerning this firman, declares he 
knows nothing of it; no firman of the kind has ever been officially 
communicated to him. 

In Palestine, which is to most of us a country of the greatest interest 
among the Asiatic dominions of the Sultan, the effects of Turkish 
administration have always been exceedingly pernicious. The present 
bad government is an insuperable obstacle to any improvement in the 
condition of that country; the people are oppressed, arc w T ronged; 
there is no feeling of security for property or person; no justice, no 
honesty, among the officials. Bribery aud corruption, according to 
our meaning of the terms, are mild words to use towards tlie infamous 
means by which money is extorted from the poor. And, unfortunately, 
the maladministration commences from the top. No Pasha could 
afford to be honest; no governor-general could venture to be just. 
The w T hole organism of the country lies on a rotten foundation, which 
is constantly being underpinned by the fortunes and lives of the Chris¬ 
tians, and often, too, by those of the Moslems w T ho have not been 
sufficiently wily to avoid getting into difficulties; but nothing will 
ever make that rotten foundation solid, based, as it is, on the Turks* 
view that the Christians and Jews cannot be admitted to an equal 
position in the country with the followers of the Prophet. The Mos¬ 
lem religion has entered into a phase which will admit of no prosperity 
in the land. Days were when trade by Christians and Jews was 
fostered, when the rulers of the country understood the art of govern¬ 
ing; but now nothing is taught but the art of misrule, for Moslem 
fortunes are in the hands of the barbarous Turk. 

It is not the Christian alone of Syria that the Turk oppresses; the 
Arab Moslem is, if not equally, yet most hardly used. Many a time 
have the Arab Moslems said to Christians, “ When will you take this 
country and rid us of our oppressors ? anything is better than their 


THE TURKISH ADMINISTRATION. 


349 


rule.” For the Turk has no affinity of race or language to connect 
him with, or give him a right to rule, the Arab. He has no power of 
sympathizing with the Semitic races, and his religion is but in the name. 
The Arab, if we may use such an expression, is a Moslem by nature; 
the Turk cannot become a Moslem by art. He is sent to Palestine to 
govern badly; he is given but a small salary, and is obliged to squeeze 
the people in order to pay his ow T n officials and to live, to reimburse 
himselt for what he has paid for his appointment in the past, and to 
carry away with him something for the future wherewith he may buy 
a higher appointment, or purchase immunity for the consequences of his 
evil deeds, should complaints be made against his rule. The Turk can 
never govern Palestine well; and until he departs the country must 
remain half desert, half prison; for it is his policy to leave it so. He 
wants it to continue impoverished, so that it may not tempt the cupidity 
of stronger nations. 

We have seen the actual working of the Ottoman despotic rule in 
those provinces of Asiatic Turkey where the majority of its subjects 
are of the same religion with their conquerors, but of a different race. 
The Arabs indeed, are a race incomparably superior to the Turks, 
and equal to any European nation in their capacity for a high civili¬ 
zation, for law and government, science and literature, commerce and 
industry, and the arts of peace. It is only by the ferocious exercise 
of warlike violence, and of a ruthless tyranny, with rapacity and 
cruelty almost unsurpassed in the most savage state of mankind, that 
the Turks have succeeded in holding down the nobler and more 
intelligent Arabs of Southwestern Asia. Egypt, where the govern¬ 
ment is mainly carried on by Arabs, under its Khedive or Viceroy, 
has made only too rapid progress in the adoption of European improve¬ 
ments; and we are told by credible witnesses that the eight years’ rule 
of Syria by Mohammed Ali, Pasha of Egypt, till his expulsion in 1841 
by British arms, was a period which contrasted most favorably with 
Turkish rule before or since. It is a mistake, therefore, to suppose 
that no Mohammedan Government can be a just, wise, or good one; 
the Arabs and the Moors, from Bagdad and Grand Cairo to Seville 
and Granada, have given the world splendid examples of social union, 
liberality, and culture. There may be in store, perhaps, for an age 
not very far distant, a revival and regeneration of the Arab race, in 
Egypt, Tunis, Syria, and the Euphrates Valley, not less unequivocal 



3.50 


THE TURKISH ADMINISTRATION. 


than that of the Greek and Italian nationalities. But for this prospect 
to be entertained at the present day we must reckon upon the speedy 
disruption of the Turkish Empire. 

The foregoing comments have been purposely restricted to the 
Asiatic provinces of Turkey. With regard to the European Christian 
populations, Bulgarians, Greeks, and Slavs, whose unhappy situation, 
beneath the Ottoman rod of barbarous brute force, has at length 
excited a high degree of sympathy in Christian nations, we do not 
think it needful to cite additional evidence of the character of Turkish 
rule in their oppressed native lands of Iioumelia, Bulgaria, Mace¬ 
donia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, in Crete and other islands of the 
Levant. The monstrous, hideous, portentous fact of the recent massa¬ 
cres and nameless outrages inflicted upon thousands of the helpless 
Bulgarians, with the connivance and tacit approval, if not at the 
instigation, of the Sultan’s Government, puts quite into the back¬ 
ground all minor grievances of these sorely-wronged Christian people, 
whose deliverance from the Turk is already vowed in every honest 
heart. But the ordinary, incorrigible, fatal vices of Turkish adminis¬ 
tration in those parts of Europe should be kept in mind with a view 
to political considerations; and it is deeply to be lamented that gross 
misconceptions upon this subject should have prevailed during the 
past twenty years. The result has been the waste of vast sums of 
money in those disastrous loans to the Government of Turkey which 
have, perhaps, rather precipitated than postponed the ruin of that 
doomed Empire. On this question we may refer to some statistics of 
the average value of imports and exports of Turkey, and of the 
revenue returns. We see here a decrease in the revenue of upwards 
of fifteen million dollars, and it is significant that the only items of 
increase are spirits, judicial taxes or fines, and tapous, or tax on the 
transfer of lands, which certainly does not point to prosperity. We 
believe (and we are borne out in our opinion by many competent 
authorities in Turkey) that this decrease in revenue is greatly attribu¬ 
table to the demoralizing effects of the large foreign loans, which have 
induced Turkish capitalists to fly to the attractions of the Stock 
Exchange, instead of investing their capital in the country. Many 
landed proprietors have sold their estates simply for this purpose; 
others have invested every farthing they could scrape together in the 
same channel, to the detriment of their estates and consequently of 


THE TURKISH ADMINISTRATION. 


351 



A Sultan’s Mosque. 


their tenants, who have languished for want or support. The worst 
aspect of the case is that much of this money passes into the hands of 
foreign speculators and leaves the country, which thus becomes im¬ 
poverished. Travel where one will in any part of Turkey, and in 
every small town he will find many of the wealthiest people who caq 
think and talk of nothing else but Turkish bonds; and there is quite 
a feverish excitement on the subject. The whole gear of the commer¬ 
cial machinery of the country is put out of working order by this 
species of excitement; and when money cannot be obtained by fair 
means it is too often found by venality. 

With a sort of blind fatuity, the people insisted upon believing that 
the Porte would meet her liabilities, and thus, when the crisis, which 
might have been anticipated, was at length realized, all trade and 
enterprise was paralyzed. In finance, like all other branches of 
administration, Turkey has made great reforms within the last thirty 
years; but there is no doubt that, notwithstanding the reforms which 
have been promulgated, the officials and administrators are more cor¬ 
rupt now than they were then. 

























352 


THE TURKISH ADMINISTRATION. 


Turkey, in fact, exists for two purposes; first, to act as a dog in the 
manger, and to prevent any Christian Power from possessing a country 
which she herself, in her present state, is unable to govern or protect; 
and, secondly, for the benefit of some fifty or sixty bankers and 
usurers, and some thirty or forty pashas, who make fortunes out of its 
spoils. We do not believe that the Turks are more idle, wasteful, 
improvident, and brutal now than they w T ere four hundred years ago. 
But it is only within the last fifty years that the effects of these 
qualities have shown themselves fully. When they first swarmed over 
Asia Minor, Roumelia, and Bulgaria, they seized on a country very 
populous and of enormous wealth. For three hundred and fifty years 
they kept on consuming that wealth, and wearing out that population. 
If a Turk wanted a house or a garden, he turned out a rayah; if he 
wanted money, he put a bullet into a handkerchief, tied it into a knot, 
and sent it to the nearest opulent Greek or Armenian. At last, 
having lived for three centuries and a half on their capital of things 
and of man, having reduced that rich and well-peopled country to thq 
desert which it now is, they find themselves poor. They cannot dig; 
to beg, they are ashamed. They use the most mischievous means to 
prevent large families; they kill their female children, the conscription 
takes off the males, and they disappear. The amount of tyranny may 
be inferred from the depopulation. There are vast districts without 
an inhabitant, in which are the traces of a large and a civilized 
people, great works for irrigation now in ruins, and constant remains 
of deserted towns. There is a city near the frontier, with high walls 
and large stone houses, now absolutely uniuhabited; it had once sixty 
thousand inhabitants. In government and religion Turkey is a de¬ 
tritus. All that gave her strength, all that gave her consistency, is 
gone; what remains is crumbling into powder. The worst parts of 
her religion—hatred of improvement and hatred of the unbeliever; 
the worst parts of her detestable government—violence, extortion, 
treachery, and fraud—are all that she has retained. Never was there 
a country that more required to be conquered. We can see no other 
solution ; the Turk is utterly unimprovable. He hates change, and 
therefore he hates civilization; he hates Europeans; he hates and fears 
all that they propose. There is not a word of it that does not disgust, 
or irritate, or alarm him. Nothing but force will oblige him to give 
it even the appearance of execution. And what is the value of 


THE TURKISH ADMINISTRATION. 353 

apparent reforms in a people without an aristocracy, without a middle 
class, without a public opinion, without the means of communication, 
without newspapers, without even a post-office; accustomed for four 
hundred years to plunder and oppress rayahs and to be oppressed and 
plundered by Sultans, Pashas, Cadis, and Janissaries ? 

Down to our time, the Turks governed a territory so vast and 
fertile that, in ancient ages, it comprised Egypt, Phoenicia, Syria, 
Greece, Carthage, Thrace, Pontus, Bithynia, Cappadocia, Epirus, and 
Armenia, besides other less renowned kingdoms. The present lamen¬ 
table condition of this fine territory arises from no change in the 
seasons, or default of nature. It still stretches from 34 degrees to 4& 
degrees of north latitude, within the temperate zone, and in the same 
parallels as Spain, France, and the best portion of the United States. 
Mount Haemus is still covered with abundant forests; the plains of 
Thrace, Macedonia, and Thessaly yield abundant and easy harvests to 
the husbandman; and a thousand ports, a thousand gulfs are observed 
on the coasts, peninsulas, and islands. The billows of those seas still 
bathe the base of mountains covered with vines and olive trees. But 
the populous and numerous towns mentioned by ancient writers have 
been changed into deserts beneath a despotic government. 

All the authorities upon this country assure us that the soil of many 
parts of Turkey is more fruitful than the richest plains of Sicily. 
When grazed by the rudest plough, it yields a more abundant har¬ 
vest than the finest fields between the Eure and the Loire, the 
granary of France. Mines of silver, copper, and iron are still exist¬ 
ing, and salt abounds in the country. Cotton, tobacco, and silk 
might be made the staple exports of this region, and their culture 
admits of almost unlimited extension thioughout the Turkish terri¬ 
tory ; whilst some of the native wines are equal to those of Burgundy. 

Almost every species of tree flourishes in European Turkey. The 
olive, orange, mastic fig, pomegranate, and the laurel and myrtle 
are natural to this soil. Nor are the animal productions less valu¬ 
able than those of vegetable life. The finest horses have been drawn 
from this quarter to improve the breeds of Western Europe; and the 
rich pastures of European Turkey are, probably, the best adapted in 
the world for rearing the largest growths of cattle and sheep. 

That, in a region so highly favored, the population should have 
thus retrograded whilst surrounded by abundance; that its wealth 
23 




354 


THE TURKISH ADMINISTRA TION. 


and industry should have been annihilated; and that commerce 
should be banished from those rivers and harbors that first called it 
into existence—must be accounted for by remembering that even the 
finest soil, the most genial climate and all the brightest and richest 
gifts of nature, are as nothing, when subjected to the benumbing 
influences of the Turkish Government at Constantinople. The Turks 
found, at the conquest of the Eastern Empire, splendid and substan¬ 
tial public and private edifices, which have been barbarously destroyed, 
or allowed to crumble beneath the hand of Time. Bridges, aqueducts, 
aud harbors, the precious and durable donations of remote, yet more 
enlightened generations, have all suffered a like fate; and the roads, 
even in the vicinity of the capital, which in former days maintained 
an unrivalled celebrity, are now in a broken and negected condition. 
The cause of all this decay is ascribed to the Turkish Government, a 
fierce, unmitigated military despotism, allied with the fanaticism of a 
religion which teaches its followers to rely only on the sword, and to 
disdain all improvement by labor. 



Modern Egyptian Dinner. 




CONSTANTINOPLE AND THE BOSPHORUS. 


355 


CHAPTER XXI. 

CONSTANTINOPLE AND THE BOSPHOPUS. 

The imperial city of Constantine, which still bears his name in 
the language of all Christendom, is called by the Turks, who have 
possessed it 423 yerrs, Stamboul or Istambol. This is a corruption 
of the three Greek words, some think, which mean “ To the City,” 
and which were of course frequently heard, referring to the capital of 
the Empire, among the provincial and rural subjects of the Byzantine 
reign. Ancient Byzantium was founded by a Megarian Greek 
colony, in the seventh century before Christ. It was the object 
ot many strenuous conflicts between the Greeks and Persians; and, 
later, between the Spartans, Athenians, and Macedonians; but fell 
under the conquering power of Rome, before the commencement of 
our era. In the year a.d. 330 the first Chiistian Emperor of Rome 
founded the august city, which remained over one thousand years 
the Christian metropolis of the East, and which has now been four 
centuries the seat of the Ottoman rule. During half the thirteenth 
century it was held by the Western Crusaders, under princes of a 
Flemish house supported by the naval power of Venice; but it was 
recovered by the Greeks, who defended it two hundred years longer 
against their Mohammedan foes. It might, even in the fifteenth ceu- 
tury, have been preserved to Christian Europe, but for the civil wars 
in France and England, which prevented the kings of these nations 
from joining in an effort to repel the Turkish invasion. The singularly 
convenient and beautiful position of this famous city, at the southern 
mouth of the Bosphorus, on a promontory overlooking the land-locked 
Sea of Marmora, has often been remarked. It is separated by the 
iulet of “ the Golden Horn” from Pera and Galata, the two Christian 
suburbs, the former of which is the abode of European residents or 
visitors, and the latter of Greek subjects of the Sultan. On the 
opposite, or Asiatic, shore of the Bosphorus is the purely Turkish town 
of Scutari. This city is entirely surrounded by walls of brick and 
stone, laid in alternate courses, with a circuit of nearly thirteen miles, 
constructed by the ancient Roman Emperors of the East. Two-thirds 


356 


CONSTANTINOPLE AND THE BOSPHORUS. . 


of the wall runs close along the water’s edge, on the shores of the 
Sea of Marmora, from the Seven Towers to Seraglio Point, the Bos¬ 
phorus, and the Golden Horn. The remaining portion, which forms 
a triple rampart behind, across the promontory occupied by Stamboul, 
was fortified with many towers, affording a variety of examples of 
mediaeval castellated architecture, but now exhibiting a series of pic¬ 
turesque ruins. There used to be seven gates on the land side of the 
city, twelve gates on the side of the Golden Horn and harbor, and 
seven looking towards the Sea of Marmora, but some have been walled 
up. The unique geographical position of Constantinople at the south¬ 
western entrance to the remarkable maritime channel which connects 
the Sea of Marmora, and thereby also the JEgean aud the Mediterra¬ 
nean, with the Black Sea, has always been admired. The Bosphorus, 
as well as the Hellespont or Dardanelles—a strait bearing some points 
of resemblance to the Bosphorus at the western extremity of the Sea of 
Marmora—divides the Continent of Europe from that of Asia. It 
must ever continue to be, as it has been in all past ages, a locality of 
great commercial and political importance. The Imperial Government 
of ancient Rome had chosen the Greek Byzantium, under the new 
name of Constantinople, for the metropolis of its Eastern dominion. A 
separate Empire of the East—Greek by nationality and social civiliza¬ 
tion, Christian in religious profession, but still Roman in the titles and 
forms of sovereignty—flourished here during nearly a thousand years. 
It was shaken, indeed, by the repeated attacks of the Saracens, Tartars, 
and Seljukian and Ottoman Turks, successively overrunning Western 
Asia under the impulse of Mohammedan fanaticism. Scarcely less 
fatal to the Byzantine Empire, as it is sometimes called, were the 
violent and rapacious Crusaders from Western Europe, who came for 
the ostensible purpose of repelling the Moslem invaders of Palestine; 
and the mercantile advantages of the Levant were appropriated by the 
Genoese and Venetians, who established their naval and military power 
along these shores. At length, in the fifteenth century, when the me¬ 
diaeval republics and feudal principalities of Europe had declined from 
their old spirit of warlike enterprise, or had been superseded by mon¬ 
archies with a different policy, the Turks under Sultan Mohammed II, 
were permitted to conquer the whole of Roumelia, with the city of 
Constantinople, and all the adjacent provinces to the Danube and the 
Adriatic, which they have kept in a miserable state of wretchedness to 


A Turkish Funeral. 


C0NS7ANT1N0PLE AND THE BOSPHORUS. 


867 




























































































358 CONSTANTINOPLE AND THE BOSPHORUS . 

the present day. The possession of the Bosphorus is the key to the 
Turkish Empire of Southeastern Europe and Western Asia; and in 
explanation of this fact, we append some further topographical notes, 
which the reader will understand more fully by a reference to the ap¬ 
propriate map contained in this volume. 

The space included from the Sea of Marmora to the Black Sea, is 
about fifteen miles in a straight line; but the voyage by steamer, 
through the winding channel of the Strait, is several miles longer. 
Stamboul, the Turkish city of Constantinople, occupies the promon¬ 
tory at the southwestern extremity of the Bosphorus, overlooking the 
Sea of Marmora on one side, and divided by the inlet called the 
Golden Horn on the other, from Pera and Galata. Opposite this, on 
the Asiatic shore, is the town of Scutari, which was founded in very 
ancient times by the Persian conquerors of Asia Minor. They gave it 
a name signifying “ the Post Town,” as it was either the starting-point 
or the first stage of a line of couriers between remote parts of the 
Persian Empire; but the Greeks called it Chrysopolis, from the gold 
brought here in payment of tribute. Scutari is a flourishing township, 
with an hourly steamboat communication across the strait, one mile 
wide, to the capital city. It contains eight mosques, and the vast 
suburban cemetery in which half a million of deceased Turks lie 
buried, every tombstone of a male adult being distinguished by the 
ornament of a turban carved at its summit; but there is also a pillared 
monument of Sultan Mahmoud’s favorite horse. The reader of Hope’s 
“ Anastasius ” may remember an eloquent passage of description and 
reflection upon this subject. But in our own days, long since the time 
when that entertaining romance was written, Scutari has acquired 
some other associations of mournful interest. Here was the military 
hospital, now converted into a Turkish barrack, where Miss Night¬ 
ingale nursed sick and wounded soldiers and sailors during the Crimean 
War. The neighborhood of Scutari, with the hill of Boulgourlou, 
commanding a magnificent sea view, looking over the whole of Con¬ 
stantinople, besides the shores and islands of the Propontis, is the 
frequent resort of parties from the opposite city. 

Having now started from the southern mouth of the Bosphorus, to 
ascend its channel, which bends alternately from east and west, Con¬ 
stantinople is left behind us. Adjacent to the suburb of Galata is that 
of Top-han6, with its artillery barracks, cannon foundry and boat- 


CONSTANTINOPLE AND THE BOSPHORUS. 359 

building yards. Next comes the Sultan’s palace of Dolma-baktche, a 
name signifying “ the bean garden,” where his Majesty receives 
Ministers of State and foreign Ambassadors. It is an imposing edifice 
of Corinthian architecture, surrounded by groves and fruit gardens, 
amidst which is also the summer palace of Besliiktash, besides a 
smaller mansion, inhabited by the late unfortunate Murad Y. before 
he became Sultan. On the next projecting point of the European 
shore is the large village of Ortakeuy, with a mostly Christian popula¬ 
tion ; here are the villas of some rich Armenian merchants and 
bankers; and here is a small chapel for the worship of the Church of 
England. The Turkish village of Beylerbey, opposite this on the 
Asiatic shore, was a place of some importance under the Byzantine 
Empire. 

As we get clear of the familiar scenes within sight of Constantinople, 
the romantic charm of the Bosphorus is felt to take a stronger hold 
upon imagination. Its very name is redolent of antique mythology, 
and of those weird traditions, embalmed in the poetry of Homer and 
iEschylus, which seem rather alien to the bright Hellenic fancy. The 
“Bosphorus” means the “Passage of the Cow;” for it was here, as the 
old fable ran, that poor Io, when Zeus or Jupiter changed her into a 
cow, was driven by the tormenting gadfly to swin across the strait. 
These shores, and those of the Euxine beyond them, are haunted, too, 
by mystic reminiscences of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts in 
quest of the Golden Fleece, and the tragic passion of Medea, as well 
as of the labors of Hercules and other heroes and demigods. It is 
probable that the superstitious fears of seamen in those early ages of 
the world had been excited to such wondering fancies by the singular 
conformation of the strait and the perplexing variation of its currents. 
There are on each side of the channel seven prominent headlands, 
with seven recesses or bays, these forming together, between the 
opposite shores, w T hat appear to resemble seven distinct lakes, seeming 
as if inclosed by the surrounding land. The general drift of the 
waters is from the Euxine southward to join the Mediterranean; but 
there are many cross currents, eddies, and backwaters, from the inter¬ 
cepting barriers, and a southerly wind often drives the whole surface 
water up the strait. These strange peculiarities, with the fantastic 
shapes of the mountainous shores, were ascribed by the startled 
mariners of antiquity to enchantment; and the Bosphorus was to the 




360 CONSTANTINOPLE AND THE BOSPHORUS. 

Greeks a region of supernatural powers, like that of Scylla and 
Charybclis between the Sicilian and Italian coasts. 

The Castle of Europe and the Castle of Asia, Ruraeli Hissar and 
Anadolou Hissar, confront each other at a narrow part of the Bospho-. 
rus, to some extent inclosing the basin which is called Balta Liman, or 
the “Battleaxe Harbor.” Rumeli Hissar, with its massive towers 
rising amidst the cypress groves of an old Turkish cemetery, on the 
summit of a bold rocky headland, is a monument of the conquest of 
Constantinople in 1453. It was constructed by Mohammed II., two 
years before that event, his predecessor, Mohammed I., having already 
built Anadolou Hissar on the opposite bank. A chair of stone was 
there cut out, for the haughty warrior to sit and watch the progress of 
his work, for which a thousand masons, a thousand lime-burners, and a 
thousand other laborers were collected from thn Anatolian districts. 
The building was laid out so as to form the shapes of the Arabic letters 
composing the Prophet’s sacred name. Its walls, thirty feet thick and 
very high, frowned sternly on the gateway of Eastern Christendom; 
the marble pillars and altars of Greek churches were contemptuously 
used for the building, which was finished in three months. The towers 
were mounted with huge guns throwing stone balls of six hundred 
weight, by which the Turkish commander was able to exact toll of 
every passing ship. Such was the Ottoman power, displayed at the 
very same place where the Persian King Darius, long before the Chris¬ 
tian era, saw his army cross over into Thrace. ' 

The shores of Balta Liman have witnessed some important political 
transactions. Here was the residence of an eminent Turkish Minister, 
Rescind Pasha; and here, too, were signed the commercial treaty of 
1838, the treaty of the Five Powers in 1841, and the convention of 
1849 concerning the Danubian Principalities. Northward of this, on 
the European side, is the harbor of Stenia, famous in Byzantine his¬ 
tory; and we arrive next at Therapia, w T hich contains the summer 
residence of the British Ambassador. The name of this place, like 
that of the Euxine, and like that of the Eumenides or avenging god¬ 
desses, is a curious example of the Greek habit of flattering euphemism 
to objects of their dread. Medea, the Colchian princess and sorceress, 
was said to have poisoned the herbs growing on this spot, which was 
ihence called Pharmakia; but the Greeks of a later day resolved to 
call it Therapia, the healing place, in order to propitiate the super- 


CO .VS 1'A NTINOPL E AND THE BOSPHORUS . 


3G1 



Servian Women Decorating Graves, 






























362 


CONSTANTINOPLE AND THE BOSPHORUS. 


natural powers, and so dispel tne mischievous influence. No situation 
is now to be found more pleasant and salubrious than that of Therapia, 
which has excellent hotels and boarding-houses, and is the abode of 
many wealthy foreigners doing business at Constantinople. It is 
renowned in naval history for a great battle in 1352 between the 
Genoese and Venetian fleets. 

Beicos Bay, on the Asiatic side, where the British fleet lay some 
weeks in the winter of 1853, at the opening of the Russian war, is not 
less worthy of note. According to the Greek poetical story-tellers, its 
shore was the kingdom of the Bebryces, ruled by Amycus, the lord of 
many oxen, w r ho behaved rudely to the Argonauts, and was afterwards 
slain by Pollux. A laurel grew above the tomb of this discourteous 
prince, which had the peculiar property of inspiring madness—a fit of 
frantic insolence—in every person that plucked a leaf; the man would 
incontinently assail his neighbors with all manner of abusive language, 
and provoke them to deadly quarrel. At Beicos is the site of the 
“ Convent of the Sleepless,” which was so called from its rule obliging 
the monks to continue singing and praying incessantly, by day and 
night, instead of at stated hours of Divine service. To the north of the 
bay rises a chalk hill, five hundred and ninety feet high, called the 
Giant’s Mountain, which is very conspicuous. At its foot lies Unkiar 
Skelessi, “ the Landing-place of the Manslayer,” where Mohammed II. 
landed on his return from the conquest of what is now European Tur¬ 
key. The sumptuous palace which formerly stood here has been con¬ 
verted into a paper-mill; but Unkiar Skelessi is celebrated among 
European statesmen for a treaty here concluded between Turkey and 
Russia, which has often been discussed, as it related to the closing of 
the Dardanelles against foreign ships of war. On the summit of the 
Giant’s Mountain is an excavation, only twenty feet long and five feet 
wide, inclosed by a stone wall, and partly overgrown with bushes. 
This has been variously called sometimes the Giant’s Cave, the Bed of 
Hercules, and the Grave of Joshua; but it is regarded with veneration, 
and the people hang clothes on the bushes to make them efficacious for 
the cure of diseases. Below this mountain, a mile or two farther on, 
the promontory of Mahdjar Bournou, the ancient Argyroconium, pro¬ 
jects into the water. There is a castle here, built in 1794 by the 
French engineer Monnier, who also constructed Deli Tabia, on the 
opposite shore; but the fortress of Mahdjar has been remodelled and 


CONSTANTINOPLE AND THE BOSPHORUS. 


363 


extended. It is the most important portion of the defences of the 
Bosphorus against an enemy coming down from the Black Sea. 

The bay and port of Buyukdere, opposite Mahdjar Bournou, demand 
our passing attention. Here is the summer palace of the Russian 
Embassy, with its beautiful gardens. The wooded hills behind the 
village present some delightful walks or rides through the forest of 
Belgrade; and the reservoirs and aqueducts, constructed by Sultan 
Mahmoud in 1732, to supply the northern suburbs of Constantinople 
with water, are works of remarkable magnitude. North of Buyukdere 
and the Giant’s Mountain the prospect is shut off by lofty mountain 
ranges, the terminating heights of the Hsemus and Olympus groups 
respectively, in Europe and in Asia. They approach near to each 
other at the two opposite points of land, which the Greeks of the 
Empire called Hieron and Serapion. The mythical hero of the Golden 
Fleece expedition here set up altars in honor of the twelve Olympic 
deities on his return from Colchis. Temples of Zeus and Poseidon, 
otherwise named Jupiter and Neptune, were in due time erected by the 
Greeks on the promontory of Hieron; while those of Serapis and Cybele, 
rising over the way, attested the piety of Asiatic worshippers. This 
part of the strait was the scene of many sharp conflicts between the 
Byzantine forces and those of the barbarian nations, Goths, Huns, 
Heruli, Varangians or Franks, Russians and Tartars, invading the 
Eastern Empire. In the fourteenth century the adventurous Genoese, 
who had already taken possession of a suburb of Constantinople, and 
had established their colonies on the Black Sea coasts, held the custody 
of this passage. They beat off the Venetians and other commercial 
rivals, built a castle on each shore, and stretched an iron chain across 
the strait, forbidding any vessel to pass without paying toll and 
asking their permission. But the Genoese possessions, here as else¬ 
where, passed a hundred years later to the Turkish Sultan. Hence 
the Turkish forts of Rumeli Kavak and Anadolou Cavak have taken 
the place of those which bore the sculptured arms of Genoese and By¬ 
zantine masters. The basin or harbor of Buyuk Liman, which was 
anciently styled that of the Ephesians, is a commodious refuge for ships 
escaping the storms of the Euxine, if they can weather the points of 
Fil Bournou and Poiraz Bournou, and get in safely. The European 
shore, above the fort of Karibjeh, is a stony desert of forbidding aspect, 
known as Tashlanjik among the Turks, but which the Greeks us*J to 



364 


CONSTANTINOPLE AND THE BOSPHORUS. 


call Gypopolis, or the City of Vultures. This place, in fact, naturally 
abounded with that voracious species of bird, which gave occasion to 
the fable of the Harpies. It was here that King Phineas entertained 
the Argonauts with a feast, which was stolen from their dishes as they 
sat at table, by those nasty, greedy, winged monsters hovering in the 
air overhead. Leaving this dismal coast, with Papaz Bournou on the 
bft hand and the Asiatic Fanar, or lighthouse, on the right hand, the 
voyager passes out into the Black Sea. It must have been a fearful 
experience for the timorous and unskillful mariners of antiquity; even 
the contemporaries of Ulysses and iEneas, whose exploits of navigation 
we read in our Homer and Virgil, would think of a trip to the Black 
Sea as we may think of one to the North Pole. Just outside the Bos¬ 
phorus is a cluster of rocks, called the Cyanean, from their bluish-black 
or slaty color, but also the Symplegades, or “Clashers,” from their ap¬ 
pearing to rush together, and to strike each other, when viewed under 
certain atmospheric conditions, which reflected light from the dancing 
waves around them. Ships were often wrecked among the Symple¬ 
gades; and so it was fabled that the Argo, Jason’s ship, had her tail, 
or rudder, cut off by the rocks suddenly closing in behind, in her swift 
passage between them. The more distant coasts of this obscure sea were 
the Cimmerian lands of perpetual darkness, or the enchanted realm, in 
which a golden treasure was guarded by fiery dragons; and there were 
savage inhabitants, on some parts, who would slaughter the helpless 
stranger cast upon their shores. The sea had therefore a bad name to 
begin with; but the Greeks, for the reason we have explained, chose 
to change this for a good name, and to call it the Euxine or “ Hospita¬ 
ble,” knowing that it was quite the contrary, but hoping that it might 
thus be persuaded to become hospitable. 


CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY. 


365 


CHAPTER XXII. 

CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY. 

The Slavonian populations in Turkey are in overwhelming majority 
Christian, belonging either to the Roman Catholic or to the Greek 
Church, the latter preponderating considerably. They are the Herze¬ 
govinians, the Bosnians, the Bulgarians, the Albanians, the Servians, 
and some Greeks. The limits of Bulgaria and Albania, as now 
variously marked on the maps, by no means represent the confines of 
the districts inhabited by those populations, it having been the policy of 
the Turk to confuse national boundaries and destroy national associa¬ 
tions and traditions as much as possible. 

The Albanians were hill-tribes more or less bound up with the 
Servs in the time of Servian prosperity, and of allied race, who came 
down from the mountains, after the fall of that power, to people the 
plains left desolate by fugitive Slaves. They were Roman Catholics, 
and the Turkish government was willing to grant them privileges in 
the exercise of their religion which seemed unimportant because 
comparatively few in number. Those who remained in the moun¬ 
tains retained their religion; but those who settled in the plains 
sought favor with the Sultan, and gained permission to domineer 
over other Christians by professing Mohammedanism. Among the 
apostate chieftains was the father of Scanderbeg, who gave his son to 
be educated by the Sultan. The son renounced the Mohammedan 
faith and joined the standard of John Hunniades in Hungary and 
fought the Turks. After a long struggle at the head of Albanian 
w T arriors he succeeded in making himself independent; but his adher¬ 
ents were not strong enough to maintain the dignity of their religion 
*or their nationality, and soon after his death no result of his efforts 
was left but a fame more widely spread than that of any other leader 
of the Christians in Turkey. 

The descendants of so fickle and unprincipled a people, with the 
accumulated vices of an apostate race, are become a by-word in the 
neighboring countries. These are the inhabitants of the northern plains 
of Albania, and are to be numbered among the Christian populations 


366 


CHRISTIANS IN TURIN V. 



An Ambassadorial Audience with the Sultan. 

only because they are near kinsfolk to the Roman Catholic tribes who 
live a very free and independent life in the mountains, whither the 
Turkish authorities dare not follow them, and because there is a ten¬ 
dency among them to revert to the ancient faith sufficiently marked 
to make it an open question whether they would not join and ma¬ 
terially help, while they morally embarrassed, any wide-spread rising 
of Christians in Turkey. Their hatred to the Turk is bitter, while they 
retain traces of sympathy with Servs even though they do not scruple 
to oppress them with a lawlessness almost unknown to any other 
Mussulman official. The southern Albanians have more in common 
with the Mohammedan and Greeks, but are also profesesdly Mo¬ 
hammedan. Both have done as much fighting for as against the 
Turks, and were, long ago, before their apostasy, the only Christians 





































































CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY. 


367 


in tlie Turkish army in the East. It may be well apropos of the 
Albanians, to suggest, in few words, the two sides of the question 
of the Christians in Turkey in relation to the army. Favorers of 
Turkey remark upon the privilege enjoyed by Christians of immunity 
from military service, while the Turks and Mohammedan populations 
have to furnish a certain contingent although they dislike military 
life. The Mohammedans are represented as justly jealous of their 
Christian fellow-countrymen on this point. But the other side of the y 
question is this; that although military reclamations fall heavily upon 
the Mussulmans, the privilege of going about armed is one which 
would be gladly purchased by the Christian population at the same 
price, while the Mussulmans are free from the heavy tax paid by all 
Christian males above three months old for exemption from military 
service, a tax which often serves as an excuse for extortion. The 
Sultan has announced that Christians will be enrolled in the army, 
but unless it be in separate regiments this promise cannot be fulfilled, 
since the daily life and habits and morals of Christians and Moham¬ 
medans are irreconcilable. Perhaps the most cogent proof that Sla¬ 
vonian Christians and Mohammedans can never peaceably share one 
country, is the fact that the former are without blame and irreproach¬ 
able in the matter of chastity, while the Mussulman, and especially the 
Turk, allows and practices unbridled license. Among the former 
women are intelligent, respected, and free, and among the latter are 
the degraded instruments of loathsome vice. Such light and such 
darkness cannot dwell together. 

The Bulgarians come more completely than the Albanians under the 
description of Christians in Turkey. Originally brethren of the Servs, 
with whom they have in common a language which is harsh and rude 
in their mouths, and soft in the districts nearer to Italian influences, 
but which is easily mutually intelligible, and otherwise identical, their 
period of prominence came earlier, but they fell at about the same time 
before the Turkish arms. They were only gradually subjugated, and 
were able to make good terms for themselves, as indeed most people 
could, the tyranny of the Turk having everywhere grown more and 
more grinding as lapse of time made him feel more at home, and privi* 
leged in his oppression. At first the Bulgarians preserved their auto¬ 
nomy, both in State and Church, paying tribute to the Sultan ; but some 
chieftains apostatized so as to share in the power which they found 


368 


CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY. 


Mussulmans in neighboring countries arrogated to themselves; some were 
driven into exile, some were disposed of, and the great blow to Bulga¬ 
rian independence was dealt just a century ago, when the Sultan im¬ 
posed upon the people a set of bishops belonging to the corrupt patri¬ 
archate of Constantinople, creatures of the Turkish government, who 
buy their sees and recoup themselves at the expense of their flocks. 
The story is the same for all the Greek-Church communities under the 
power of the Porte. The Christians suffer as much from the religious 
superiors imposed upon them against their will as they do from the civil 
governors and their subordinates. But the subjection of the Bulgarians 
had not lasted long enough to deprive them of all courage when the 
resurrection of Greece, of the Moldo-Wallachian provinces, and of Free 
Servia, gave them spirit to bestir themselves. Early in this century a 
movement began among them for better education, and now the whole 
province possesses a most respectable number of schools for both boys 
and girls, in which the ancient Cyrillic alphabet, the old Bulgarian 
language, and the early version of the Bible, are carefully taught in 
order to help forward free intercourse with the neighboring Servs. The 
policy of the Porte has been to harass the people by forced immigra¬ 
tions from wilder portions of the empire; but they have steadily held 
on their way, cultivating the marvellously fertile plains which fall to 
their lot, and which would make them wealthy under a good govern¬ 
ment, and with access to European markets. They grow cotton, silk, 
and corn, in what would be abundance but for oppressive taxation, aud 
leave the Mussulmans to people the towns. In the towns, however, 
many shopkeepers are Christians, and the taxes are arranged so as to 
fall most heavily on the trades and industries usually engaged in by 
them, and not by Mohammedans. 

Within the last few years the Bulgarians have succeeded in insisting 
on the fulfilment of a clause in the decree of 1857, which promised the 
restoration of their ancient ecclesiastical privileges, and this is a great 
step towards regaining their civil freedom. 

The Mohammedan population of Bulgaria has diminished, partly 
because they are subject to military service, partly because the intro¬ 
duction of steam has well-nigh destroyed some of the industries practised 
in Bulgaria, such as silk weaving. The result is that the Moham¬ 
medans are poorer than even the Christians, only they are still in a 
position to bully and rob their wealthier neighbors with impunity. 


CNR IS TJ A NS IN TURKEY. 


369 

The taxes are now raised partially from the Mohammedan population, 
and they resent the injury, and revenge themselves on the Christians 
murdering them or taking their lands from them without fear ol 
consequences. For all the professions of mixed tribunals, and the 
reception of the evidence of a Christian in the courts of law, nay, ever 
the device of peripatetic commissioners to see that these provisions arc 
carried out have been tried and found utterly wanting. It is a point of 
faith with every Mohammedan throughout Turkey, that every Chris¬ 
tian is his appropriate victim, and the only Christians who obtain 
justice, or unjust sentences in their favor, are those who are wealthy 
and unscrupulous enough to buy the judge and not to be afraid of 
thus exposing their well-being to possible risks. Of such Christians 
there are many throughout Turkey, as must needs be after centuries 
of association with Mohammedan morals, and of grinding misery. 
These Christians are those who dare complain and seek the help of 
consuls against Turkish courts and officials, and it is they, too, who 
dare accept the empty dignity of place in the mixed courts. 

Herzegovina and Bosnia have commonly been spoken of together, 
and they have, as a matter of fact, been under one Turkish Governor. 
The Sultan has now appointed a separate Governor for Herzegovina, 
saying that the differences in the constituents of the populations of the 
two districts render this desirable, there being a larger proportion of 
Mussulmans to Christians in Bosnia than in Herzegovina. This is 
said to make it impossible for the Sultan to grant to Bosnians all the 
reforms possible for Herzegovina. But since Bosnia and Herzegovina 
have repeatedly demanded those reforms which were promised by the 
decree of 1857 to all the provinces of the Turkish Empire alike, it is 
not easy to see what difference need now be made between these two 
provinces. One great difference, however, there really is, arising 
chiefly from the greater number of Roman Catholics in Bosnia, who 
are inclined to direct their efforts towards the end of being absorbed 
into the Catholic Empire of Austria. Herzegovina looks to the heads 
of her own race. 

Herzegovina differed from other branches of the Slavs at the down¬ 
fall of the Servian Empire, inasmuch as it secured to itself, for a long 
time, rights of popular self-government, its population feeding cattle 
on the mountains, as far as possible from the towns where the Turks, 
here as elsewhere, kept each other in countenance. The Sultans, from 
24 


370 


CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY. 


time to time, confirmed their privileges, and even so late as ten years 
ago a native chief was violently superseded in his post of authority 
by a Mussulman Governor. Repeated efforts to destroy the bonds 
between the people of the province and their old and long-acknowledged 
native leaders, together with the rapacity of Turkish settlers, tax 
gatherers, and officials have caused the reiterated insurrections which 
have earned for these populations a character for turbulence which the 
western nations have been unable to conceive that a government could 
for so long be bad enough to justify. 

The Bosnian nobles hold an ignobly prominent position in the 
miserable story of Turkish acquisition in Europe. The common people 
of the country stood as staunchly to their faith as the rest of their 
brethren, but by some unhappy chance there was among them a class 
of privileged nobles who preferred apostasy to the loss of position and 
property, and who at once, when the struggle against the Turkish 
arms became finally hopeless, declared themselves Mussulmans, and 
thus, by the law of the Koran, secured fresh and novel rights to ride 
roughshod over the peasantry. But these shameless renegades did 
not at the same time learn to love their conquerors, and thus Bosnia 
has within her borders native Christians groaning under Greek 
bishops and Mussulman officials; native Christians strongly attached 
to the Roman Church, and yearning after Austrian rule; native 
nobility thirsting for the day to come when they may find the use of 
the carefully-kept title-deeds and badges of nobility coming from 
ancient days; and genuine Osmanli Turks, who wonder, perhaps, that 
the people whom Allah long ago gave them as slaves and victims 
should not placidly submit to have their wives and daughters ravished, 
their goods plundered, and their kinsfolk murdered, by them in 
obedience to fate. 

And now the survey brings us to the principality of Servia, which 
alone has kept the name of Servia in European geography. Other 
districts, commonly known as parts of Bulgaria and Albania, are 
known to the Slavs as “Old Servia,” but that is not a name recognized 
by the Sublime Porte. This is the largest Slavonic province engulfed 
by Turkey, and numbers something like a population of a million and 
a quarter. It is now, after four hundred years of a more utter subjec¬ 
tion than any other Turkish province, and then, after sixty yeitrs of 
gallant struggle, the free principality of Servia, governed by its 


A Turkish Barber. 


CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY. 


371 








































































































































































































































































































































372 


CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY. 


hereditary prince, whose peasant ancestor, only two generations agOj 
headed an insurrection and won the title of prince and a recognition 
of his right to reign, by the choice of the nation, from the Sultan. 

In the fourteenth ceutury Servia had already produced the ruling 
dynasty, and had given name to the Empire. Some reason for this 
preponderance over the neighboring tribes may probably make itself 
clear to those who learn that a very complete and typical example of 
the village community system overspread the whole of Servia, covering 
it with a well-ordered population, among whom no differences of rank 
existed to tempt the possessors into compromise with the invading 
Turk. These oppressors came and seized fortresses and towns. The 
people withdrew into the dense oak forests which clothe the undulating 
country, holding no converse with the Turks, and visited by them 
only when either plunder was wanted, or gangs of laborers to execute 
unpaid tasks for the oppressor. Generation after generation here died 
without ever having seen a town, because the most abject humbling 
of themselves could not save them from insult and injury at the hands 
of the Turks, and because it was too bitter to them to see the strong¬ 
holds of their nation in the hands of enemies from "whom it seemed 
hopeless to try to wrest them. 

The peasant life was simple. The head of the sadrooga apportioned 
the work among the men and women of the family, and the evenings 
served for the repetition or chanting of Servian poems, either handed 
down to keep the memory of empire and of heroes green, or newly com¬ 
posed by some of the many singers of the country, to commemorate 
more recent deeds of valor against the Turk among some neighboring 
tribes. The life was simple, disciplined, and organized in a way which 
gave the people regulated coherence enough to suffer long, and then, 
when opportunity came, to prove themselves strong. They did not 
give up their country without a struggle. The fatal battle of Cassova, 
now looked back upon as the last final field, did not at the time put an 
end to their hope and resolution. The young Lazarevitch, successor to 
Lazar, who was killed in that battle, made a treaty with the Sultan, by 
which he was to hold his crown in fief; but at his death the Turks de¬ 
clared that it was impious to allow a Christian ruler to possess lands so 
fair, and a Turkish garrison was sent to assert the direct authority of 
the Sultan. The Servs allied themselves with Hungary, and Belgrade, 
the city of seven sieges, was strengthened, and a fortress built at Semen- 


CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY. 


373 


dria, a little lower down the Danube. This great mass of gray stone 
walls, with its twenty-five towers, was built to command the junction 
of the Morava and the Danube, looking on the Danube in the direction 
from which the Turkish host must always approach it, and there was 
built through the whole thickness of the wall a red brick cross, which, 
the more furiously battered, has only shown the brighter in contrast to 
the gloomy strength of the stone. A fortress strangely typical of Ser¬ 
vian, as of all other persecuted Christianity, it still remains to remind 
the people by whose aid and by the help of whose arm they have now 
regained the freedom to worship God in Christ. For there can be no 
doubt that it has been the sobriety and patience of Christian faith, 
darkened and distorted though it has been, that has been the backbone 
of the people, and their eagerness now to learn the way of God more 
perfectly must not be hidden from our eyes by the stories we hear of 
political struggles and intrigue, nor of social disorder and impurity in 
Belgrade, whither people of all countries and opinions have flocked, 
eager to utilize the newly risen power for their own ends. The heart 
of the people is sound and steady, and they are guided by a prince who, 
though young and inexperienced, has already shown himself patriotic, 
discreet, and firm—a true Servian. 

The alliance with Hungary would probably have been a permanent 
one, and the Servians might have had no worse a history than the 
Slavonian provinces of Austria had not Hunniades told the Servian 
leader that he should require them to acknowledge the supremacy of 
Rome—of which the Servians had an extreme horror—while the 
Sultan promised absolute religious toleration and ecclesiastical self- 
government should they submit to him. The choice seemed easy, and 
would have been the right one had they had to deal with any but a 
treacherous power. They still struggled for civil liberty also, but in 
1444 the battle of Varna made the Sultan master of all but Belgrade, 
which was held against him by the Hungarians till 1522. The con¬ 
fidence of the Servians in the liberality of the Turks was misplaced. 
Mohammedanism alone was tolerated; the Christian churches, monu¬ 
ments of the piety and architectural skill of generations of princes and 
people, were used as stables; the peasants were heavily taxed for the 
support of the spahis or military colonists of the Sultan, and were 
subjected to continual correes; every fifth year conscription took their 
most promising boys to be brought up in the Mussulman faith and 


374 


CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY. 


fight in the Sultan’s armies; the land was used almost every year as 
the route for the Turkish armies in their wars with Western Europe, 
and neither man, woman, nor child, nor houses, nor goods, were safe. 

The fall of Belgrade, which marked the triumph of the Turks over 
the Hungarians, was the signal for even increased extortion and 
violence on the part of the spahiis, committed not by virtue of law, 
but, as it was in the beginning and is now throughout Turkey, because 
the Turks are utterly lawless, and no central authority can ever ensure 
liberty and justice in the provinces. For a hundred and sixty years 
thick darkness covered the land; but at the end of the seventeenth 
century Leopold of Germany attacked the Turks, and the Servians 
rose to help him, and in 1718 they were ceded, by the treaty of Pas- 
sarovitz, to Austria, under whom they had peace for twenty years. 
They lost no moment of this breathing-space, but made roads, restored 
churches, and did all they could to repair the losses of former times. 
But the end came, and Austria, too weak to hold the country against 
the Turks, had to abandon them once more to their old exasperated 
foes the spahis. In despair thirty-seven thousand families, headed by 
George Brankovitch, fled to Austrian territory, on a bargain that 
they were to have a large amount of freedom in self-government, both 
civil and ecclesiastical, and were in return to guard the Austrian 
boundaries. The Servs of Austria complain that this bargain was 
never kept; but with their grievances we have nothing at present to 
do. They certainly were never in such dismal case as those who 
lemained on the national soil. 

As the century grew older, however, the utter subjection of Servia 
to the Turks brought some good results. The rights of the spahis 
were more clearly defined, feudal service was no longer forced from 
the peasantry, and many fought with willingness, if not with enthusiasm 
in the Moslem armies. But the spirit of patriotism was not dead. 
When a reforming Sultan ascended the throne and resolved to intro¬ 
duce European tactics and discipline among his troops, the Janissaries 
rebelled, and among the most insubordinate were those who had long 
exercised authority in Servia. They set the civil representative of the 
Porte—the pacha of Belgrade—at defiance, and the order-loving 
Servians answered to the appeal of the Sultan and drove the rebels 
from the country. At once all Turkey was in an uproar; the Sultan 
had employed “dogs of Christians” to defeat true believers. The 


CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY. 


375 



Janissaries were at once reinstated, and rode roughshod over Servian 
and spahi alike. They cried to the Sultan in vain, and the result of 
this falling out among thieves, was that the honest Servians began to 
come by their rights. Belgrade fell into their hands, they claimed 
the right to garrison their own fortresses, and other rights, and would 
have received them in return for a yearly tribute had not the rise of 
Napoleon’s fortunes emboldened his ally the Sultan. The leader of 
this period was Kara or Black George, a peasant of strong character. 























































































376 


CHRISTIANS IN TURKE V. 


ruthless determination, and considerable military experience, able in 
civil matters too, up to the requirements of the people at that stage. 
He called together the national assembly, or Skouptehina, aooointed 
a senate, and revived the laws of Eushan. 

It is needless to follow the varying fortunes of the struggle, "which 
lasted till Kara George and his senate were forced to fly across the 
border into Austria, and the Sultan’s troops set themselves to pacify 
the country by impaling the native leaders, throwing infants into 
boiling water and into cesspools in derision of baptism, arid other 
similar modes. The Sultan then found in Milosch Obrenovitch, a 
well-known Servian, a mediator between him and the furious people. 
Terms were arranged, and in 1815 the treaty of Bucharest gave to 
Servia freedom of worship, of commerce, of self-administration, of 
self-taxation for the imperial treasury, of garrisoning her towns, 
and of administering the estates of such spahis as refused to sell the 
lands on which in future they were forbidden to live. But Milosch 
was not proof against the temptations of power. He abused his 
princely dignity, was driven from the country, and Kara George 
having been invited to return but having been murdered on the way, 
Milosch’s son Michael was raised to the throne. He was young and 
untrained, and three years served to show that he could not govern 
the people. He abdicated, and went to Germany and France to study. 

The Servians chose as his successor Alexander, son of Kara George; 
but he also failed to satisfy either the Sultan or the people, and was 
compelled to abdicate in 1858. Milosch was then invited to return, 
and ruled about a year and a half with some vigor, organizing a 
national militia almost equivalent to an arming of the entire nation. 

On his death his son Michael, now older and wiser, succeeded to a 
difficulty caused by the remonstrances of the Sultan, Austria, and 
England, against the new militia. Then he was involved by an immi¬ 
gration of fugitives from Turkish oppression in Bulgaria and Bosnia; 
but he stood his ground, and succeeded in winning for his government 
the love of the kindred populations beyond his borders, and a steadily 
growing respect from the great Powers. In June, 1862 a storm burst 
over his head which brought him in the end perfect independence, ex¬ 
cept so far as concerned the retention of two Turkish garrisons in the 
country, and an acknowledgment of suzerainty and a tribute to the 
Sultan. This was the treacherous bombardment of the town by the 


CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY. 


377 

fortress of Belgrade under pretext of a scuffle between a few Turkish 
soldiers and some youths. The exasperated Servians held themselves 
in perfect quietness, trusting to Michael’s diplomacy and the good feel- 
ing of Europe to secure them against the repetition of such an outrage, 
and their hope was not in vain. Michael continued to develop the 
resources of the country; churches were rebuilt; schools, primary and 
higher, and technical, and colleges and a university were opened; and 
mines and railways were projected. In 1867 the last Turkish garrison 
was withdrawn; and now a tribute of $115,000 per annum is the only 
link between the Porte and the Free Servs of Servia. 

In 1868 Prince Michael, who was struggling to keep the balance 
between a somewhat strong conservative ministry and the liberal, if 
not radical demands of his people, was shot down in his garden, as it 
was subsequently pretty clearly proved, by an agent of the party who 
wished to bring Alexander Kara Georgevitch back to the throne. His 
death left a successor who was a minor; but the ministry vigorously 
held on in the path of improvement, and were abb to give a good 
account w T hen the present prince Milan ascended the throne in 1871. 
He has established a firm hold on the affections of the people, and the 
internal resources of the country are being rapidly developed. 

To Montenegro alone belongs the proud boast that it has never been 
under the dominion of the Turks, has never been inhabited by them, 
has never agreed to pay tribute to them, but has kept up a perennial 
struggle with them ever since the fall of the Servian Empire. It is 
but a little State, and perhaps it owes its independence scarcely more 
to the hardy vigor of its sons than to the fact that it consists just of a 
knot of the Balkans, a place where the native saying is that God, in 
sowing the earth with rocks, dropped the bag. Its bare rocks and 
severe climate have always been its strong allies against the Turk, and 
its inhabitants have never so aggregated wealth around them as to be 
unwilling to burn homes and crops rather than leave them as prey to 
the invading Turks when there was nothing left for it but flight to the 
roughest heights. At first, after the battle of Cassova, the chief of the 
Province of Zeuta owned much of Herzegovina, and fought hand in 
hand with the Albanians. But Scanderbeg’s death left him alone, and 
Ivo the Black retreated to the mountains which now are the whole of 
Montenegro. Even the seacoast had to be abandoned, though only a 
rifle-shot from the southern limit of the mountains is Bocclie di Cat- 



373 


CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY, 


taro, the finest harDor in Europe, the natural outlet for Slav commerce, 
for which Slavs have longed and fought for four centuries, but which 
still lies, well-nigh unused, before their tantalized eyes. 

For a century the fugitives found their mountains a secure retreat, 
and their bravery and advantageous position made them desirable 
allies. Venice was not reluctant to give the right hand of fellowship 
to the highlanders, and many alliances were formed between the no¬ 
bility of the two States. But such a friendship was not without its 
drawbacks; for the Venetian brides lured their husbands to the luxury 
of their own old homes; and finally, in 1516, the Prince of Montenegro 
left the government in the hands of German Petrovitch, Bishop (of the 
Greek Church) of Montenegro. In his family it has ever since been 
hereditary, descending first from uncle to nephew, and only in this 
century going in the usual order of descent, since, in 1852, Danilo 
resolved to abolish the law of celibacy as incumbent on the prince, and 
married a Viennese lady whose life was one of far-sighted benevolence, 
and who did more than perhaps any other to aid the cause of education 
throughout Slavonian lands, and to steady the course of Slav policy. 

Throughout these centuries the story of Montenegro has been purely 
that of hard-won victory against the Turks. No instance of truce or 
treaty with the Turks has occurred without its following of treacherous 
betrayal. In 1703 Peter the Great thought it worth while to secure 
Montenegro as his ally, but he too betrayed the principality to its 
enemies. The Turks came and devastated the country. Venice 
refused her aid, and paid the penalty of the loss of her provinces from 
Bosnia to the Isthmus of Corinth, and the struggle ended with a siege 
of seven years sustained by Montenegro. In the end of last century 
Russia and Austria began to intrigue against each other for the friend¬ 
ship of the little State, and their rivalry has ever since been a valuable 
tool in the hands of the rulers of Montenegro. In 1813 Cattaro, which 
had submitted to Venice, when Ivo retired to the mountains, on the 
bargain that it was never to be given to any other power, found that 
Napoleon, as conqueror, had ceded it to Austria. Resenting this, it 
strove to join the mountaineers, but failed. Prince Daniel had done 
all he could to help it; and on seeing that Austria had tightened her 
grasp on what should have been his seaport, he retired to his little capi¬ 
tal of Cetign4, and devoted himself to the improvement of his people. 
His successor, Peter II., obtained from European powers a frontier 


CHRISTIANS IN TURKE Y. 


379 


treaty, wliieh was the first formal recognition of his country by diplo¬ 
matists. Under him rapid advance was made in the essentials, though 
not in the external comforts of civilization. It will not do to live a 
less rigorous life till the country is secure from Turkish inroads; but 
schools were multiplied, roads made, and some barbarous practices in 
war done away with. The custom of cutting off the heads of dead 
enemies has not yet been quite given up, because the Turks of the 
neighboring lands would misconstrue such humanity as cowardice. 

Danilo projected a code of laws, and disregarded all provocations to 
war with the Sultan till an actual invasion compelled him to take up 
arms; and the victory of Grahovo, in 1858, secured for him a commis¬ 
sion of great powers to fix the boundaries between Montenegro and 
Turkey. Some fertile districts were awarded to him, but no seaport; 
and he was not required to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Porte. 
In 1859 he was murdered, when at Cattaro for his wifes health, and 
never was prince more deeply mourned. His people flocked down the 
precipitous zigzag road to Cattaro to demand vengeance when he lay 
dying; but his message was that they should go quietly home. It was 
a long time before gay dress or weapons or festive gatherings appeared 
in the mountains. His successor was the present reigning Prince 
Nicholas, who was only eighteen years of age; but who has vindicated 
his fitness for the difficult post by great wisdom and prudence. Under 
Montenegrin skies education is fostered as in all other Servian commu¬ 
nities, all forms of religion are free, and the knowledge of the truth is 
being spread as might be expected in a country the capital of which 
contains only a hundred houses, which found purchasers for thirty-two 
copies of the Bible at one visit thither of a colporteur. 





380 


EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR. 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR. 

In Herzegovina the harvest of 1874 was a bad one, and the 
peasantry foresaw a hard winter before them. The tax-collectors, 
agents of the officials who farm the taxes, require the agriculturists 
to keep the crops standing until it suits their convenience to come 
and levy the tithe due to the Sultan, estimating the crops as standing 
damaged there to be worth the highest Constantinople market prices. 
But in one district the tax-gatherer did not come till January, 1875, 
when hunger had compelled the sale and the eating of parts of the 
crops. The tax-gatherer estimated the tax at an enormous sum; the 
people resisted his demands; they were robbed, beaten, imprisoned, 
and their chiefs threatened with arrest when they complained. Some 
fled to the mountains of the neighboring independent State of Monte¬ 
negro, secure to find shelter among people of the. same faith and 
race. They found the leading Montenegrins at the capital, Cettinje, 
consulting how to act with reference to a Turkish infraction of 
boundary rights, and were welcomed as fellow-sufferers. 

During their absence another district of Herzegovina was roused to 
discontent and resistance by the arbitrary conduct of the police and by 
the way in which forced labor was imposed by them. The district 
authorities reported to their superior, and gendarmes were sent to com¬ 
pel submission. Other neighboring districts were quiet; but the clergy 
of some Roman Catholic districts, whose ancient privileges had never 
been confirmed by the present Sultan, stirred their flocks to support 
the dignity of their religion against threatened inroads on the part of 
the local authorities. 

Just then the Emperor of Austria visited his province of Dalmatia, 
which is peopled by Slavs, the near kinsmen of the Herzegovinians, 
and borders on Herzegovina to the southwest. His visit had a political 
significance in the eyes of the simple peasantry, who hoped that he had 
come to see how best to help them against their oppressors. He prob¬ 
ably had no such aim, but his visit encouraged them nevertheless. 

The gendarmes arrived in rebellious Nevesiuje at the end of April; 


EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR. 


381 



A Woman’s Normal School in Constantinople. 


the Christians fled to the mountains, their chiefs to Montenegro. The 
gendarmes went on to Bilec; but here the peasantry offered only a 
passive resistance to their entering the villages, and refused to appear 
before the local authority. The flame broke out here on a Christian 
womau suffering insult at the hands of a gendarme. A pasha, Yali 
Selim, had already been despatched by the governor of Bosnia to 
inquire into the result of the Emperor of Austria’s visit to Dalmatia, 
and was instructed to give the discontented population the alternative 
of returning submissively to their homes or of emigrating to Monte¬ 
negro. They refused to deal with any but an envoy direct from the 
Sultan; being not rebellious against his authority, but compelled to 
defend themselves, their families, and their property, from his Mussul¬ 
man officials of the same race as themselves. 

It was as yet two small districts only that were involved; few were 
even interested in their affairs. But the refugee chieftains were incon¬ 
venient to Montenegro, and safe-conducts w^ere procured by Prince 
Nicholas for their return. The Turkish frontier-guards attacked them 



























































































382 


EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR. 


in spite of their passports, and a second application was necessary te 
get them across the border. On their return home they were left com¬ 
paratively unmolested, merely having some of their houses burned, one 
being assaulted in the bazaar, another killed as he left the court in 
which he had complained of the assault, another being murdered in his 
field, and an innkeeper who had entertained them paying for his hos¬ 
pitality with his life. The authorities made no sign of any intention 
to punish these outrages, but still there was no general outbreak. Iso¬ 
lated attacks were made on single Turks, and the matter became grave 
enough to attract the attention of the Porte. Accordingly the mufti 
of the Slavic Mussulmans was removed, but not punished, and a very 
obnoxious bishop, with Turkish leanings, was transferred to a better 
post. The neighboring villagers armed themselves, but remained quiet, 
waiting to see what would happen, doing their ordinary work all day, 
but guarding the roads at night against any surprise on the part of 
government. 

This was about midsummer. At last a conference was held between 
representatives of the Sultan and the people, who also insisted upon 
the presence of an envoy from Montenegro. The demands made by 
the peasants were for things promised them by the famous decree or 
hattisherif of 1857: that Christian women and girls should be safe 
from Turkish insult; that they should have liberty to exercise their 
religion; that Christians and Mohammedans should be equal before 
the law ; that the excesses of the police should be restrained; that the 
taxes should be justly and seasonably levied. The Mohammedans 
thought these demands exorbitant, and endeavored to browbeat the 
Christians into some abatement of them, but in vain; and when Der¬ 
vish Pasha, governor of Bosnia, came to add his wisdom to the council, 
the people demanded further the long-promised freedom from forced 
labor without payment. 

The Pasha promised to do his utmost to obtain for them their rights 
if they would lay down their arms, but they said that could only be 
if they and their Mussulman neighbors were meanwhile separated. The 
Pasha retired to his capital, and the Christians fled with their families 
and goods to the mountains. The Mussulmans broke into the govern¬ 
ment store, and armed themselves with breech-loaders; the neighboring 
districts still holding themselves quietly in readiness. 

On the first of July some Christians who had been driven from their 


EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR. 


383 


rough mountain refuges by illness were killed at Nevesinje by the 
armed Mussulmans; the Chiistians revenged themselves, and then 
seized on a band of frontier-guards escorting provisions. The small 
engagements were repeated, and in one of them a body of Turkish 
troops took part. This precipitated a general rising. But the insur¬ 
gents were not united; no leader had yet appeared among them ; and 
an advanced radical” agent of a Servian republican society who 
aspired to the leadership met with only scant courtesy from the native 
chiefs. The Roman Catholic districts were persuaded to lay down their 
arms; the government having been convinced of the power of the 
clergy, who here, as elsewhere, were anxious rather to maintain their 
own authority in obedience to Rome than to help forward any move¬ 
ment for the good of their people. 

Towards the end of July it appeared that a Greek-Church official 
was unwilling to allow his people to join the insurgents, and asked the 
government for soldiers to help him; but the Mussulmans said that for 
them and Christians to fight, fall, and possibly be buried together, was 
an intolerable thing, and so the Christians of that district swelled the 
numbers of the insurgent army. 

In the early part of August the insurgents surrounded Trebigne. 
A few weeks later, a rising took place in Turkish Croatia, a district 
inhabited by a Slavic population, belonging chiefly to the Roman 
Catholic and Greek Churches. In the meantime the European powers 
turned their attention to the insurrection. Ambassadors from Austria, 
Germany, and Russia, conferred with the Grand Yizier, and advised a 
suspension of hostilities, but the Porte refused his assent. However, 
at the suggestion of the six great powers, the Porte subsequently 
commissioned Server Pasha to inquire into the grievances of the 
insurgents; and at the same time the foreign consuls w T ere forbidden 
giving the insurgents any hope or promise of foreign assistance. 

In the latter part of August the Turks drove the insurgents from 
Trebigne into the mountains; but a Turkish detachment of twelve 
hundred men, which was sent to Biletj, fifteen miles distant, were 
lured into an ambush and severely defeated, a small remnant only 
reac&ing Trebigne. Five days later another Turkish force was defeated 
in the same locality. Elated with success, the Insurgents on the 14th 
of September made an attack upon Biletj, but were routed by a 
greatly superior force. On the same day they captured the Turkish 


384 


EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR. 


earthworks at Bobe, twenty miles northeast of Trebigne, and pursued 
the garrison as far as Lubigne, where they seized a large quantity of 
stores and ammunition. 

While these events were transpiring, the foreign consuls assembled 
at Mostav, for the purpose of conferring with Server Pasha and the 
chiefs of the insurgents; but the latter, not making their appearance, 
the consuls sought the insurgents in their strongholds, and advised 
them to submit to the Porte. Their efforts at pacification, however, 
met with no success. A number of Herzegovinians, who had fled into 
Austria, addressed a manifesto to the consuls, setting forth their 
grievances, declining the mediation of the European powers, and 
demanding their liberation from Turkish rule. 

In the early part of September the following “firman” or edict was 
issued by the Sultan to the governor-generals of the provinces: 

“ There is no doubt that the welfare of the country and the well¬ 
being of its inhabitants have for their general basis the security of 
property, life, and honor, of each one. This security can only be 
obtained by a good and impartial administration of justice. This was 
the sense of our last imperial hasti to our Grand Vizier, which read as 
follows: ‘As the good administration of affairs in our Empire, the 
welfare of the country and the happiness of its inhabitants, is the 
object of all our care, it is our wish that an effective protection and 
equal justice be enjoyed by all classes of society in such a manner 
that the rights and the honor of all be secured. As the ministry of 
justice represents one of the most important departments of state, it 
is absolutely necessary that it proceed in conformity with our well- 
meaning intentions. We, therefore, order that these intentions be 
proclaimed and be fully executed/ Our orders and our later instruc¬ 
tions are only issued to-day, in order to confirm our above-mentioned 
sovereign intentions. Their execution depends on the honest and 
energetic efforts which must be displayed by all dignitaries, whether 
they are judges or administrative officers, as well as on their willing¬ 
ness to produce a beneficial change of affairs. All public officers, and 
particularly those who are intrusted with judicial functions at the 
courts of the Scheri, and the civil courts, either in the capital o<F in 
provinces, must particularly see to it that the trials are conducted 
impartially, and in accordance with the laws of the Scheri and the. 
other laws in general, that all our subjects without distinction may 


Natives of a IIerzegovinan Province. 


EVENT ; PRECEDING THE ICAR, 


380 



25 




























































































































386 


EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR . 


enjoy the greatest security and justice. This is our decided imperial 
wish.’ After the preceding was brought to the notioe of each one ot 
my Governor Generals, our present sovereign order proceeded from 
our imperial divan, and at the same time that you in your position as 
Governor-General will receive this order you will also receive a list of 
those acts which may have been committed contrary to the laws of my 
Empire, and with the knowledge of all the world. Upon the receipt 
of my imperial firman, you will hasten to bring these instructions to 
the knowledge of the judiciary as well as the administrative officers, 
and all of our minor officers, in the capital and all the districts of the 
vilayet, and you will see that our orders are promptly executed. It 
is understood that the officers will be treated according to their good 
or bad behavior. The Sublime Porte will take such measures as 
may seem necessary to keep informed on the course of public affairs, 
as you know that the least infringement or neglect of our imperial 
orders will bring on you a heavy responsibility; you must act accord¬ 
ingly. You will take care to bring to the notice of our Sublime Porte 
all those officers who act contrary to our command.” 

In October an imperial ordinance was promulgated, granting to 
agricultural populations an exemption from one-fourth of the tithes 
previously imposed, and relieving them from the payment of taxes 
already in arrears. It was further provided that there should be a 
representative administrative council, composed of delegates chosen by 
the communities; and it was promised that their reasonable demands 
should receive respectful attention, the information obtained from 
them serving as a basis for reform measures. It was announced, in 
conclusion, tbat the gradual realization of these reforms had been 
decided upon. 

On the 27th of October General Ignatiev had an interview with the 
Grand Vizier, Mahmud Pasha, in the course of which he remarked: 
“ The Czar regrets that the insurrection in Herzegovina has not yet 
come to an end. He ascribes this delay to the poor actions of the tri¬ 
bunal recently appointed in Mostar, as well as to the low degree of 
security enjoyed by the insurgents who return to their allegiance. 
These, on the contrary, are subject to annoyances on the part of the 
authorities. Thus, also, the delay in the execution of the promised 
reform is a cause of the continuance of the insurrection. It is to be 
hoped that an improvement in thtoee affairs will shortly take place; if 


EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR • 3 #/ 

not, he cannot see the Christians of the Ottoman Empire continually 
exposed to persecutions, and the Powers will be forced to intervene.” 

While negotiations were going 011 , the fighting continued with vary¬ 
ing success, until the advance of winter compelled a temporary cessa¬ 
tion of active military operations. In November a victory was gained 
by the Herzegovinians at Gatchko, where they captured three hundred 
rifles, fifty tons of ammunition, and a provision train, destined for 
Govansko. 

On the 12th of December another edict was issued by the Sultan, in 
which the following provisions were contained: 

“ The lawsuits between Mohammedans and non-Mohalnmedans will 
be turned over to the civil courts. No one will be imprisoned without 
a trial. Bad treatment of prisoners will not be permitted. The rights 
of possession of all subjects shall be secured, the gensdarme shall be 
selected from the best inhabitants of each town, and socage shall be 
abolished. All religious heads shall have the right to the free exercise 
of their religions, and all public offices shall be opened to non-Moham- 
medan subjects. Testamentary provisions shall be .respected. All just 
complaints and wishes shall be brought, unhindered, before the Porte. 
Ihe powers of the governors and other high officials are to be cut down. 
All the provisions in the firman are for the benefit of loyal subjects 
only. The Grand Vizier will take the necessary measures to bring 
these reforms into execution, while a special commission will watch 
over them.” 

On the 20th of December the Sultan appointed a commission, com¬ 
prising all State Ministers, and a number of Mohammedans and Chris¬ 
tians, who were entrusted with the duty of seeing to the execution of 
the new reform. But the insurgent leaders in Herzegovina having 
consulted with representative Christians from Bosnia, resolved not to 
pay any regard to the Sultan’s promises of reform, but to continue the 
conflict until the Turks should be driven out. 

On the 18th of January, 1876, an engagement occurred between the 
insurgents and the Turks on the road between Ragusa and Trebinje, 
in which the insurgents claimed that they had defeated the Turks and 
inflicted a severe loss upon them. The road between Ragusa and Tre¬ 
binje fell into the hands of the insurgents. 

On the 11th of February the Sultan of Turkey issued a decree for 
the execution of the reforms and concessions demanded by Austria and 


388 


EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAD. 


the other European Powers, to improve the condition of the Christian 
people in Bosnia and Herzegovina; but the chief leaders of the Herze¬ 
govinian insurgents, Peko Paulovitch and Lazar Socica, determined to 
reject these concessions, and the Austrian Consul, who was sent to 
obtain a pacification, failed utterly in his mission. The above decree 
was supplemented by another, grantiug general amnesty to all insur¬ 
gents who within four weeks should return to their homes; and the 
Turkish government further promised to rebuild, at its own cost, all 
churches and houses which had been destroyed. The insurgents, how¬ 
ever, refused to place any faith in these offers, and a meeting of a 
number of thoir leaders was held at Suttorina, February 26th. A mani¬ 
festo was issued, in which they pointed out the Porte’s former failures 
to carry out promised reforms, and declared that the resistance of the 
Mohammedans would baffle every reform; the Mohammedans w r ere 
even expected to revolt if an attempt were made to execute the reforms. 
The insurgents desired full freedom and independence; this, or nothing. 
This paper contained an expression of thanks to Austria for the care 
she had taken of the Herzegovinian refugees, and closed with an avowal 
that help was expected from Russia. 

While the diplomatic agents were trying to bring about a peaceful 
understanding, military movements were generally suspended, and only 
a few engagements took place. The most important of these occurred 
on the 6th of March. Five battalions of Turks under the command 
of Selim Pasha, going to provision the fortress of Goransko, were 
attacked and defeated by the insurgents under Paulovitch, with the 
loss, it was said, of 800 men killed, 675 rifles and four lifled cannon. 
The Turks were pursued as far as Lipnik, four hours’ march. The 
insurgents had in this engagement 1,150 men, and claimed to have lost 
only ten killed and tw r enty-five wounded. 

Liubibraties, who had figured conspicuously in the early days of the 
insurrection, had withdrawn to Ragusa, where he actively agitated the 
insurgent cause through the newspapers, and by the help of their cor¬ 
respondents. He collected a small force comprising Russians, Serbs, 
and adventurers from Poland, France, and Italy, and having embarked 
them in detachments from different points, landed, towards the close of 
February, at Klek. Keeping close to the Austrian border, he marched 
toward Linbuska. On the 5th of March he repulsed a company of 
Bashi-Bazouks, who were out on a reconnoissance. On the 11th of 


EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR. 


r>c\r\ 
i/Oj 

March he reached the neighborhood of Imoschi, in Dalmatia, where 
he and the members of his staff were arrested upon Austrian territory. 
The greater part of his command were dispersed, but eventually joined 
other bodies of insurgents. 

On Friday, April 28, the Turkish troops encountered the insurgents 
intercepting the road to Presjeka, and dispersed them after four hours’ 
fighting. The convoys of provisions were victoriously conveyed into 
Niksics, and the troops afterwards returned to Presjeka. On Saturday 
morning they were attacked by the insurgents, who had received rein¬ 
forcements. The fighting lasted until evening, and the insurgents were 
compelled to take to flight. During these two days the insurgents lost 
between three and four hundred killed and wounded. On Sunday 
morning, having ascertained that the insurgents, who had received fur¬ 
ther reinforcements, were intrenched in the forest near Presjeka, on the 
side of Piva, in order to cut off the line of retreat, the Turkish troops 
attacked them, and after sanguinary fighting, which lasted until eight 
o’clock in the evening without intermission the insurgents were routed. 
The victory was decisive, and the losses of the insurgents were consider¬ 
able, being estimated at about one thousand killed and wounded. The 
Turks, moreover, captured a large quantity of arms, and returned to 
Gatchko without further fighting. 

On Saturday, May 6, a Mussulman mob, armed with clubs and 
knives, attacked and murdered the German and French Consuls, Mr. 
Henry Abbott and his brother-in-law, M. Paul Moulin, who had taken 
refuge in a mosque. They had joined the American Consul in assum¬ 
ing the custody of a young Christian girl, who had been removed from 
her home for conversion to the Mohammedan religion. The German 
Consul was a British subject, born at Salonica, and married to a Greek 
lady; he was also connected by marriage with the American Consul, 
Hadji Lazaro. The Turkish government at once promised full inquiry 
and satisfaction in the punishment of the murderers. Six of them were 
? condemned and publicly executed; fifty more were arrested for taking 
part in the riot. This outrage aroused an intense excitement through¬ 
out the Christian world, and a joint foreign commission of inquiry pro¬ 
ceeded to the spot. France, Germany, Austria, and Italy sent vessels 
of war to Salonica, and England despatched a gun-boat to accompany 
the commission which the Turkish government sent to investigate the 
affair. 


390 



Moldavian Stages 





































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR. 


391 

In the last days of May an abrupt end was put to the reign of Abdul 
Aziz by his subjects. The deposition of Abdul Aziz was not brought 
about by a popular revolution, but by the action of the Ministers, 
pushed to extremity by the absolute refusal of the Sultan to advance 
money from his privy purse for the exhausted war treasury. Upon 
his refusing to alter his decision, he was informed that the people were 
dissatisfied with his government, and that he was deposed. Immediately 
afterwards he was conducted under guard to the Toplmna Palace, where 
he bled to death from wounds inflicted by himself in both arms. 

The Turkish popular movement which caused this revolution seems 
to have originated in the excitement which foliow T ed upon the Salonica 
massacre. For a long time the Softas, or Mussulman students of 
theology and law, who constitute the “ Young Turkey” party, had 
been agitating for internal reforms and more energetic action con¬ 
cerning the insurrection in the. Herzegovina. They objected to the 
acceptance of the Andrassy Note, as they regarded Montenegro as the 
cause of much of Turkey’s trouble, and they advocated a decisive 
course of action against that Principality. The consternation into 
which all classes in Constantinople w r ere thrown by the news of the 
Salonica outrage gave them at length the opportunity for which they 
had been waiting. On May 7th a crowd of them, headed by their 
professors and clergy, gathered in the streets. So menacing was their 
behavior that Dervish Pasha ordered the Sultan’s guards and the 
troops in the city to be kept in their respective barracks ready for any 
emergency. The ironclads which were at that time in the Bosphorus 
were ordered to draw up in front of the palace and to point their 
loaded cannon against Beschichtach, Orta Keni, and Arnaout Keni, 
which were the suburbs from which any attack of the Softas might 
be expected. Next day, however, Dervish Pasha was turned out of his 
office as Minister of War and was sent away to the Governorship of 
Diarbeker. The Softas, whose organization included 20,000 active men 
in the Turkish capital, were left to agitate against Mahmoud Pasha, 
then Grand Yizier. Day by day their demands grew louder and 
more persistent. They declared that Midhat Pasha should be Grand 
Vizier, and that politician was actually summoned to the palace. 
But his demands or conditions were so extensive that eventually he 
was dismissed, and a kind of compromise w T as offered by the ejection 
of Mahmoud Pasha, and the appointment of Mahmoud Buchdi in his 


392 


EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR. 


place. Meanwhile Hussein Avni was appointed Minister of War, and 
Abdul Kerim Nadar Pasha was appointed generalissimo of the army. 

The personal demeanor of Abdul Aziz showed that he was very 
uneasy. He changed his residence from palace to palace in a singularly 
unnecessary manner, testifying to the restlessness of his mind. The 
incessant deliberations and demonstrations of the Softas were not 
calculated to dispel his anxiety. The plot was then under considera¬ 
tion which soon afterwards ripened into his deposition. Midhat Pasha, 
emboldened by their action, refused to be sent away, and was even¬ 
tually offered a seat in the new Cabinet without a portfolio, an 
appointment which he accepted. The outcry for a surrender of some 
of the money hoarded in the palace increased in strength. To all 
but the Sultan it was evident that the Softas were gaining daily in 
strength; that, so far from being a party of disorder, they were 
emphatically the champions of a more constitutional Government. 

Affairs being in such a critical state, Mahmoud Ruchdi, the Grand 
Vizier, Hussein Avni, the Minister of War, and Ahmed, the Minister 
of Marine, had a long interview with the Sultan, and urged him to 
accede to the demands of the Softas. He refused to do so. They 
then concerted their measures. In the evening the Minister for 
Foreign Affairs visited the Ambassadors at Buyukdere, having re¬ 
ceived them in the morning at five o’clock. The captains of the fleets 
were changed at night. The palace of Abdul Aziz at Dolma Baghtch6 
was surrounded by troops on one side and by sailors on the other. 
Hussein Avni Pasha proceeded thither, taking Mourad Effendi with 
him to the Seraskierat, where Mourad was received by the Ministers 
and by deputations from the Softas and Ulema. He was received 
with acclamations by those assembled, and was recognized as the new 
Sultan. Thereupon General Redif Pasha went to the Sultan Abdul 
Aziz and announced to him that he had been deposed, and that 
Mourad Effendi had given orders to conduct him to the pavilion at 
the end of the Seraglio. Abdul Aziz was in great wrath when the 
news was communicated to him, but, seeing that the palace was sur¬ 
rounded and that resistance was useless, he allowed himself to be 
conducted with his four sons and a hundred wives to the kiosk selected 
for him. 

On Tuesday morning there was a great stir in the streets. The 
four guilds—namely, the firemen, the drawers of water, the carriers, 


EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR. 


393 


and the boatmen—led by groups of Softas, who were headed by their 
professors, formed a procession. They marched to the Sultan’s palace 
at Dolma Baktch6 without being interfered with by the military, to 
whom no orders seemed to have been given to act in case of such a 
demonstration. During the progress of the procession the crowd 
increased by many thousands. The Sultan’s palace was guarded by 
mounted police, who did not interfere with the crowd, though cries of 
“Down with Abdul Aziz!” and “Long live Mourad Effendi!” came 
from it. In the meantime, by orders of the Grand Vizier and Sheikh- 
ul-Islam, Mourad Effendi was proclaimed Sultan, and a salute was 
fired of one hundred and one guns from each ship. At ten Mourad 
Effendi girded on the sword of Osman at the Mosque of Eyoub. An 
edict was issued, which commences thus: “We, Abdul Aziz, in pursu¬ 
ance of the wish of the great majority of our subjects, abdicate in 
favor of our nephew, Mehemed Mourad Effendi.” 

On the night of the 15th of June, while the Ministers of State 
forming the new Sultan’s Government were sitting together in the 
Council Chamber, a person named Hassan, who had been an officer in 
the army, forced his entrance into the room and killed Hussein Avna 
Pasha, the Minister of War, with a shot from a revolver. The others 
attempting to seize him, he shot dead the Minister for Foreign Affairs, 
Mohammed Raschid Pasha, and two of the attendant officers. The 
Minister of Marine, Ruschid Pasha, was wounded. In the affray 
which followed, a member of the household of Midhat Pasha, who 
attempted to arrest the murderer, was also killed. Finally a detach¬ 
ment of soldiers came in and captured the murderer. He was sum¬ 
marily tried, and was hanged on the morning of the 17th of June. 

The war had gone on for nearly a year in Herzegovina, when an 
attempt at a rising took place in Bulgaria also. With regard to this 
insurrection the Turkish government seems to have been in a position 
somewhat analogous to that which the Austrian government once held 
with regard to the revolutionary movements in Italy. All through 
the winter there were numerous suspicious symptoms, which all in¬ 
dicated that something was preparing; but all efforts made to get hold 
of something more positive were in vain. The information came in 
many cases from the Bulgarians themselves, the wealthy portion of 
whom, above all the inhabitants of the towns, secured from the 
beginning more news about an outbreak than the Turks themselves 




394 


EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR. 


could. Much of this information proved either quite unfounded or 
else so exaggerated that it produced almost the opposite effect, lulling 
the authorities into a false sense of security. Far from taking any 
extraordinary measures to meet the eventuality of a rising in Bulgaria, 
they neglected almost the most ordinary precautions. Almost the 
whole corps de armee of Roumelia, which is stationed as a rule in 
Bulgaria, was again concentrated in spring at Nish and Widdin, with 
the object of keeping order at the great fair which is held in April at 
Djuma, not far from Shumla. A battalion of Chasseurs had to be 
sent from the camp at Widdin. Besides the Zaptiehs, or gendarmes, 
only small detachments were left in the towns, so that, at the first 
moment, there was scarcely any force at hand to send to the disturbed 
district. 

It was on the 1st of May that the first news of the rising reached 
Sofia. It was a report from the Kaimakam of Ichtiman, a town 
situated between Tatar Bazardjik and Sofia, in the mountain range 
connecting the Balkan with the Rhodope chain, according to which a 
collision had occurred between the population and the Zaptiehs who 
had been sent to collect the taxes. The villages of Otlikein, Arret- 
al-An, and Islady, all situated in the mountain district between Tatar 
Bazardjik and Sofia, were specified as the focus of the insurrection. 
A Mudir, a sub-Prefect, and several Zaptiehs had been killed, two 
railway bridges and the telegraph line between Tatar Bazardjik and 
Ichtiman had, it was said, been destroyed. Immediately after the 
collision the insurgents, w r ho collected from various points as if by 
order, retired to different strong positions in the mountains, where 
provisions had been collected beforehand. 

The insurgents were mostly armed with Minie rifles and others of 
older construction, and seem to have been provided with ammunition. 
As regards the arms, in the beginning of spring the authorities received 
information that a cargo of them was preparing to be sent across from 
the Roumanian side on a certain point. The hint was taken, and, in 
fact, a small portion of arms fell into the hands of the Turks; but, 
while the attention of the Turks was concentrated on this special point, 
several thousand stands of arms and a large quantity of ammunition 
were sent over to various other places. 

On the same night that the first news of the rising reached Sofia a 
battalion of rediffs quartered there was sent off to Ichtiman. At the 


EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR, 


395 



Map of the Turkish States 






























































396 EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR. 

same time reinforcements were telegraphed for in every direction; but 
the Turkish government was at this time in extremities. Its army 
was fully occupied in Herzegovina as well as along the Servian 
frontier, and it had to strip the capital of troops in order to hold 
Philippopolis and Adrianople. To prevent the spread of the rebellion 
recourse was had to the special measure of arming the Mussulman 
population and the Circassian refugees. These were turned loose upon 
Bulgaria with the result of crushing out every sign of rebellion in 
about three weeks’ time. The Baslii-Bazouks—as the armed Moslem 
population were called—seemed to make it a rule to shoot every 
Christian on sight, and the fields were absolutely deserted in c' n- 
sequence. The savages burned all the rebel villages, of course. Loyal 
villagers, hearing of their doings, would huddle together in some 
corner for safety. Immediately a squad of Bashi-Bazouks would 
pounce upon them, taking or pretending to take their assembling as a 
sign of evil intent, and then another band of frightened women and 
children would be added to the crowds flocking to the cities for shelter, 
while another village would be added to the list of those destroyed. 
After two hundred or more villages had been burned down, and after 
thousands of men had been killed and other thousands arrested for 
complicity in the rebellion, the Bulgarian rising became a thing of the 
past. But still the Bashi-Bazouks and Circassians continued their 
work, and there was no safety except in the cities where there were 
regular troops. The regular troops, although quiet and well-behaved 
in comparison with the Bashi-Bazouks, were not free from crime. 
They seized goods in shops, plundered the markets, and barbarously 
outraged defenceless women and young girls. 

The government gave no heed to complaints, and although the 
rebellion was crushed, the courtry was ruined. Just at this stage of 
affairs occurred the revolution. The new Sultan within three days 
after his accession ordered the repression of the Bashi-Bazouks. But 
the Bashi-Bazouks declined to be repressed, and for three weeks more 
outrages continued to occur spasmodically. Wherever the troops were 
not, Bashi-Bazouks were sure to appear. They had now become 
robbers, pure and simple, if they were ever anything else. The answer 
of one of them to an order to surrender stolen property to its lawful 
owner, illustrates their position: “ My king ordered me to take this 
property; it is mine lawfully. The new king cannot take away from 
me what I have lawfully acquired.” 


EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR. 


397 


Credible witnesses, who visited the insurrectionary district early in 
August, describe the most heart-rending scenes. In the town of 
Batok were found great numbers of skulls scattered about, and one 
ghastly heap of skeletons with clothing. In one place there were 
counted a hundred skulls, picked and licked clean, all of women and 
children. Entering the town, on every side were skulls and skeletons 
charred among the ruins, or lying entire where they fell in their clothing. 
There were skeletons of girls and women with long brown hair hanging 
to the skulls. Near the church these remains were more numerous, 
and the ground was literally covered with skeletons, skulls, and 
putrefying bodies. Between the church and the school there were 
heaps of bodies, emitting a fearful stench. In the churchyard the 
sight was even more dreadful. For three feet deep it was festering 
with dead bodies; partly covered hands, legs, arms, and heads pro¬ 
jected in ghastly confusion There were many little hands, heads, 
and feet of children of three years of age, and girls with heads covered 
with beautiful hair. The church was still worse. The floor was 
covered with rotting bodies quite uncovered. In the school, a fine 
building, two hundred women had been burnt alive. All over the 
town there were the same scenes. In some places heaps of bodies 
buried in shallow holes had been uncovered by dogs, and the banks 
of the little stream were covered with bodies. 

Many bodies had been carried to Tatar Bazardjik, a distance of 
thirty miles. The town had nine thousand inhabitants, but was 
reduced to a population of twelve hundred. Many who had escaped 
returned, weeping and moaning over their ruined homes, and their 
sorrowful wailing could be heard at a distance of half a mile. On the 
11th of May Panagurishta was attacked by a force of regular troops, 
together with Bashi-Bazouks. Apparently no message to surrender 
was sent, and after a slight opposition on the part of the insurgents 
the town was taken. Many of the inhabitants fled, but about three 
thousand were massacred, the most of them being women and children. 
Of these about four hundred belonged to the town of Panagurishta, 
and the others to nine neighboring villages, the inhabitants of which 
had taken refuge there. Four hundred buildings, including the 
bazaar and the largest and best houses, were burned. Both churches 
were completely destroyed and levelled to the ground. In one, an old 
man was violated in the altar and afterwards burned alive. Two of 


EVENTS PRECEDING THE WAR . 


m 

the schools were burned; the third, looking like a private house, 
escaped. Hardly a woman in the town escaped violation and brutal 
treatment. The ruffians attacked children of eight years, and old 
women of eighty, sparing neither age nor sex. Old men had their 
eyes torn out and their limbs cut off, and were then left to die, unless 
some more charitably disposed man gave them the final thrust. 

This scene of rapine, lust, and murder, was continued for three 
days, when the survivors were made to bury the bodies of the dead. 
The perpetrators of these outrages were chiefly regular troops, com¬ 
manded by Hafiz Pasha. 

At first the friends of Turkey were disposed to make light of these 
outrages; but after impartial investigations made by Mr. Baring, of 
the British legation, and Mr. Eugene Schuyler, the American Consul- 
General, all doubt upon the subject w T as removed, and there w T as 
a general recognition of the fact that horrible atrocities had been 
committed. 

Commenting on these disclosures, Mr. Gladstone said, in the latter 
part of September: “ There is not a criminal in an European jail, 
there is not a cannibal in the South Sea Islands, whose indignation 
would not rise and overboil at the recital of that which has been done, 
which has too late been examined, but which remains unavenged; 
which has left behind all the foul and all the fierce passions that 
produced it, and which may again spring up, in another murderous 
harvest, from the soil soaked and reeking with blood, and in the air 
tainted with every imaginable deed of crime and shame. That such 
things should be done once is a damning disgrace to the portion of our 
race which did them; that a door should be left open for their ever-so- 
barely possible repetition would spread that shame over the whole.” 

Mr. Gladstone summed up the demands of British sentiment, con¬ 
curred in by all civilized human beings, in the following two points: 

“1. To put a stop to the anarchial misrule (let the phrase be 
excused), the plundering, ‘the murdering, which, as we now seem to 
learn upon sufficient evidence, still desolate Bulgaria. 

“ 2. To make effectual provision against the recurrence of the out¬ 
rages recently perpetrated under the sanction of the Ottoman Govern¬ 
ment, by excluding its administrative action for the future, not only 
from Bosnia and the Herzegovina, but also, and above all, from 
Bulgaria; upon which, at best, there will remain, for years and for 
generations, the traces of its foul and bloody hand.” 


THE WAR IN SEE VIA AND MONTENEGRO. 


399 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE WAR IN SERVIA AND MONTENEGRO. 

At the beginning of 1876 the ministry of Kalievitch was at the 
head of the Servian government, and was strongly in favor of peace,’ 
being opposed by the Skouptchina or National Legislature. On 
January 22d the latter body unanimously adopted the w T ar estimates, 
and three days after the Minister of War asked an additional grant 
for army equipment. On the 20 th of February all the male popula¬ 
tion between the ages of twenty and and fifty were called out. During 
the latter part of February disturbances occurred at the Communal 
elections, and a strong w r ar feeling prevailed, which, however, tem¬ 
porarily subsided upon peaceful assurances being made by Prince 
Milan to the Austrian representative at Belgrade. During the next 
month the war party brought heavy pressure upon Prince Milan, and 
about the same time the capital was illuminated in honor of the battle 
of Muratovizza in Herzegovina. The Turkish soldiers gathered along 
the frontier of Servia committed depredations upon the persons and 
property of the people, and the Servian militia w r as ordered out against 
them. 

In April the Austrian representative, Prince Wrede, addressed a 
note to Prince Milan, threatening that Turkish and Austrian troops 
would occupy Servia in case the latter declared war against Turkey; 
but the ministers unanimously advised him to give no heed to it. 
With the renewal of hostilities in the insurgent provinces the war 
feeling increased, and the public mind became inflamed by reports of 
the Bulgarian atrocities and the murder of the consuls in Salonica. 
At last Prince Milan was compelled to yield to the popular clamor, 
and a new cabinet was formed, decidedly warlike in character, with 
Bistitch-Gruitch at its head. Important steps were now taken to 
prepare the country for war. On the 24th of May provision was 
made for the issue of a loan of twelve million francs, payable within 
five years. On the 29th the Russian General Tchernayeff was ap¬ 
pointed to a command in the Servian army, and troops were soon 
after dispatched to guard the frontier. Meanwhile negotiations were 


400 


THE WAR IN SER VIA AND MONTENEGRO. 


Woman of Mostar. 



entered into with Montenegro, and a treaty offensive and defensive 
concluded between the two states. 

On the 23d of June the Servian troops were placed under arms, and 
on the 29th a Servian representative at Constantinople delivered a 
memorandum to the Sublime Porte containing the demands of Servia 
and Montenegro, which were rejected by the Porte, as had been 
anticipated. A simultaneous declaration of war by Servia and Mon¬ 
tenegro was immediately published, July 2d, followed by their actual 
invasion of the neighboring Turkish provinces, Bosnia and Herze¬ 
govina. 











TJlll WAN JN SUN VIA AND MUN'JKNKGRO. 


401 


Prince Milan's war manifesto described tlio Insupportable position 
in which Hervia had been planed by the outbreak of Insurration in 
the Herzegovina and JioHtiift; and stated tlmt while Hervia hud taken 
no stcjm that could have Impeded the work of pacification, Turkey, on 
the other hand, iiiid surrounded her wii.li a holt of iron, 

The Primal of Montenegro, on the same day, replied to the latter 
addressed to him hy tho Orund Vi/Jar a w«ik previously, hy Mending 
his declaration of war. I la Maid that ho could not accept ilia aMUrunccs 
of the Porte, wliieli imd haan deceived liy mendacious reports from iI h 
agents; that a blockade of Montenegro was actually existing, and that 
the, Turkish troops on the Montenegrin frontier had lately haan in- 
area«ad, With considerable difficulty the, Prince, following tho advice 
tendered by tho Powers, had abstained from taking part in the insurrec¬ 
tion, and supported the work of pacillcation. But Ihh people now saw 
that the Porte wan not able to put an and to I,ha struggle; and ho 
himself approved of this opinion, and preferred openly to daalaro war 
against I urkey. 

On tho same day that war was declared, Prince Milan took his 
departure for tho army, Tho Bervian troops retained at Belgrade in 
the capacity of garrison or reserve were drawn up before the palace. 
The Prince appeared on horseback, accompanied by his whole staff, 
fully equipped and of very warlike appearance. The whole population 
seem* I/O have turned out to witness his passage. The Prince placed 
himself in the centre of his troops, which formed a square around him, 
and, drawing his sword, exclaimed, u Holdiers and people of Hervia, I 
leave lids capital to join the valiant army awaiting me at the frontier, 
and which will aid me to fight victoriously the traditional enemy of 
my country and my religion. People- and soldiers of Hervia, adieu 
till after victory!” 

The Hervian army was divided as follows: I. The army of the 
Inina, composed of the first and second bans of the first division, and 
numerous volunteer corps, principally composed of Bosnians. It num¬ 
bered about twenty thousand men, Infantry and cavalry, and was 
under the command of General Alimpitch. 2. I ho army of the I bar, 
composed of the first and second bans of the division Western Morava,, 
and volunteers from Houtbwestern Bosnia, under the Archimandrite 
f mtchitch; this army also contained about twenty thousand men. St. 
Tho principal army, the army of the Houth, was placed under the 
2ft 







402 the war in servia and montenegro . 

command of General Tchernayeff. It was composed of the first and 
second bans of the division Southern Morava, and of the first ban of 
the divisions Danube and Shumadiya, and had in all about forty-five 
thousand men. 4. The army of the Timok was under the command 
of General Lieshanin, and consisted of the first and second bans of the 
fourth division, and several volunteer bodies, in all about twenty < 
thousand men. This left available the second ban of the fifth and 
sixth divisions (Danube and Shumadiya) and the entire reserve. 

For the better understanding of the movements of these various 
divisions, we give the following topographical details. In two places ■ 
the mountains of Turkey and its adjacent provinces are in connection 
with those of middle Europe. The mountains in Dalmatia, Bosnia, 
West Servia to the Morava, the Herzegovina, Montenegro, and North 
Albania (that is, Scutari) are a continuation of the Alps, and run 
parallel to the Adriatic, or from northwest to southeast. A continua¬ 
tion of the Transylvanian Carpathians stretches, in the form of a horse- \ 
shoe, from the Servo-Turkish frontier opposite the Austrian town of ; 
Orsova, on the Danube, to the Black Sea. The mountains in East i 
Servia, from the frontier river Timok to the Morava, are spurs of the ■ 
Balkan. On the summit of the Ivanova Livada (Ivan’s Meadow), ] 
where Servia and the pashaliks of Widdin and Nissa meet, stands a 
Servian karaula (watch-house), and there the Balkan proper begins. j 
That part of the mountains at the foot of which the river Timok flows, 
to the valley of the Nissava, was first explored, a few years ago, by the j 
Austrian geographer, Kanitz. It has no collective name among the j 
inhabitants, and was named by him “ Sveti Nicola Balkan,” as the 
most important pass there is the “ Sveti Nicola Pass,” four thousand 
one hundred and sixty feet above the level of the sea. The word - 
“Balkan” is Turkish, and signifies mountains; there are, therefore, a 
number of Balkans, named after the neighboring Bulgarian towns, 
and sometimes also narrow passes. 

The two groups of mountains, the Western and the Balkans, are 
separated by the broad valley of the Morava, which flows into the 
the Danube in two arms at Semendria and Pozarevac (below Belgrade), 
and is formed by the Servian and Bulgarian Morava uniting at the 
little Servian town of Stalatz. By following the larger arm—namely, 
the Bulgarian Morava stream—upwards, we come to a defile, and pass¬ 
ing Alexinitza, a Servian frontier town, we reach the plain of Nish, or 


THE WAR IN SERVIA AND MONTENEGRO . 


403 


Nissa, evidently the basin of a lake in remote ages. This plain forms 
a triangle, the point of which lies near the Servian frontier, where the 
Nissava flows into the Bulgarian Morava. Passing through the valley 
of the Nissstva, which forms the eastern side of the triangle, the beauti¬ 
ful hollow of Sophia, “ the picture of Paradise,” as a Turkish historian 
calls it, is reached by the old Roman road from Belgrade to Constanti¬ 
nople, and through the Talley of the Bulgarian Morava, we arrive at 
the Kassovo Polje (Ousel field) and the old road to Thessalonica (Sa- 
lonica). The valley of the Ibar, which river flows through the pasha- 
lik of Novibazar (between Montenegro and Servia) and empties itself 
into the Servian Morava at Karanovatz, also leads to the Kassovo 
Polje. In the triangle between the three rivers are three moderately 
high and not yet fully explored chains of mountains, and by these the 
rivers are often forced into narrow gorges. 

On the south side of the Kassova Polje and the plain of Sophia a 
bridge, so to speak, between the Bosno-Albanian mountains and the 
Balkan is formed, first, by the Tchar Dagh mountains running from 
west to east, then by the Ryl mountain, an immense block, and the 
Vitos, a pyramid almost seven thousand feet high. Both from Ryl 
(Turkish Rilo Dagh) and Vitos, chains of mountains extend west, 
south, and east. The chain in the south forms the connection with the 
Ichtiman Middle mountains, and thereby with the Balkan. The road 
from Constantinople to Sophia, Nissa, and Belgrade leads through two 
passes in the Ichtiman range. Between Mount Ryl and the Tchar 
Dagh mountains there is a deep depression, which makes it easy to 
pass from the valley of the Bulgarian Morava into that of the Vardar, 
and therefore forms the road from Belgrade to Salonica. The valley 
of the Nissava, which is the road to Constantinople, and the valley of 
the Bulgarian Morava, which is the highway to Salonica, are the only 
roads by which armies could be marched. 

The Servian and Montenegrin troops crossed the frontier, a complete 
agreement respecting the military operations being established between 
the two Principalities. The Servian army, on Sunday morning, July 
2d, crossed near Suppowiza, in the direction of the Morava. The 
forces under General Milutin Jovanovics occupied Seczenitza and 
Dadulaicz, and repelled an attack of the Turkish army. General 
Paul Gorgewicz occupied the heights of Jopolniza. On Monday 
General Tchernayefi’s forces attacked the Turkish camp at Babina- 


404 


THE WAR JN SERV1A AND MONTENEGRO. 


glava, and, after three hours’ fighting, the Turks were forced to 
retreat, leaving behind them several batteries and a quantity of 
provisions. Early on Monday morning the Servian troops under 
Kauko Olimpics crossed the Drina and pushed forward as far as 
Beilina, where they opened a vigorous cannonade. The fire was kept 
up until five o’clock, when the Servians proceeded to storm the town. 
The right wing succeeded in entering the fortifications, and, without 
making any provisions for holding the captured posts, pursued the 
retreating Turks into the streets of the city. Here the Servians 
were received by a well-directed fire from the houses; disorder began 
in their ranks, and they in turn were driven out. The disorder com¬ 
municated itself to the centre, and Olimpics was forced to retreat. He 
succeeded in restoring order, however, and retained a firm footing on 
the left bank of the Drina. Here he began to fortify himself, and 
gradually pushed his outposts nearer and nearer to Beilina. He 
received in his camp large numbers of fugitives from Bosnia, among 
whom were a great many capable of bearing arms. The Turks at this 
time abandoned Little Zvornik, which was immediately occupied 
and fortified by the Servians, thus placing them in complete possession 
of the right bank of the Drina. 

On the Timok, General Lieshanin assumed the offensive on the 
2d of July. The first ban of this division, and the “Holy Legion,” 
a volunteer body, were concentrated in and around Saitchar, while the 
second ban held the entire Timok line. Taking up the line of march 
for Widdiu, he encountered the enemy in the neighborhood of Karaul; 
and as his troops displayed great difficulty in being managed, they 
were soon put to rout, and in the evening he returned to Saitchar with 
considerable loss. On the following morning Osman Pasha crossed 
into the Servian territory, and immediately began to deploy his troops. 
The Servian cavalry fought to prevent this, but were forced to retire 
into Saitchar. Kieshanin, who feared to have his line of retreat cut 
off, finally ordered the fortifications on the right bank of the Timok 
to be abandoned. The Servian loss on these two days was said to 
have been over eighteen hundred men, a great number of whom w^ere 
killed, while the loss of the Turks is estimated to have been fiir greater. 
But although Osman Pasha continued to harass the Servians, even as 
far south as Belgradshik, he did not intend to, nor could he follow up 
his victory, for the principal Turkish army w T as by no means in a con¬ 
dition to sustain him in any forward movement that he might make. 


Tartar Meat Merchants. 


THE WAR IN SER VIA AND MONTENEGRO , 


405 


































































































































































































































406 


THE WAR IN SERVIA AND MONTENEGRO . 


In the south, General Tchernayeff had left the division of South 
Morava, at Alexinatz and Deligrad under the command of Colonel 
Milan Ivanovitch, with directions to cross the border on the left bank 
of the Morava and to threaten the fortress of Nissa. With the greater 
part of his army Tchernayeff marched to the left, to Bania and 
Gurgussovatz, and then leaving Nissa on his right, intended to cross 
the border and march on Ak Palanka and Pirot. Ivanowitch, on 
July 2d, marched with two brigades, two columns, towards Mramor 
and into the valley of the Toplitza. Here he had a short engagement 
with the enemy, and seemed to have been successful in drawing the 
attention of the garrison of Nissa. Tchernayeff moved the greater part 
of his army on the road from Gurgussovatz to Ak Palanka, while 
a small detachment was ordered to advance to the right upon Nissa 
by way of Granada, to watch it also on the right bank of the Morava, 
and thus impress the Turks with the idea of an intended siege of this 
fortress. A detachment on the left of the main army was ordered to 
march toward Pirot. On July 4th Tchernayeff appeared before Ak 
Palanka and Pirot, and, after a short engagement before the former 
city, entered them on the 5th. As, however, he did not receive the aid 
from the Bulgarians that he had expected, and as the misfortunes of 
Lieshanin on the Timok had cast a decided gloom over the Servian 
operations, Prince Milan ordered him to return to Servia; and on 
July 10th he left Ak Palanka and Pirot, and set out on his march 
back to Servia. 

With this occurrence the offensive movements of the Servians came 
to an end, and their forces retired into Servia. The Turkish movements 
did not begin until the last days of the month. During the three 
weeks that intervened comparative quiet prevailed, but few engage¬ 
ments occurring, and no movements of any account taking place. 

In the latter part of July a combined movement of the Turks upon 
the Timok line began. The troops participating in this action were 
the corps of Eyub Pasha, from Nissa, reinforced on its right wing by 
the newly-arrived division of Soleiman Pasha, and the strong division 
of Osman Pasha from Widdin. The two principal points of the Ser¬ 
vians on the Timok line were Gurgussovatz and Saitchar, with their 
surroundings. Eyub Pasha marched against Gurgussovatz. On his 
right wing Soleiman Pasha advanced on the line Pirot-Pandiralo, 
while on the left wing Hafiz Pasha led the advanced guard on the 




THE WAR JN SER VIA AND MONTENEGRO . 


4o7 

line Granada-Derwent; this was followed by the reserve under Eyub 
himself. The entire force of Eyub Pasha at this time was estimated 
at thirty-three thousand men, of whom, however, at least ten thousand 
remained in Nissa, while the mobile reserve, to an equal number, was 
posted along the road from Nissa to Granada; so that, for the attack 
on Gurgussovatz, only thirteen thousand men were at the disposal of 
the General, who was afterward but slightly reinforced from the 
reserve. Osman Pasha commanded the operations against Saitchar, 
having at his disposal about eighteen thousand troops of the regular 
army. For the attack on the Timok line the Turks had, at the most, 
thirty-five thousand men of the regular army, to which were added 
thousands of Bashi-Bazouks. 

On the 28th of July Osman Pasha attacked the advanced post of 
Lieshanin at Weliki Iswor, forcing it to retreat to Saitchar. Large 
numbers of the inhabitants of this city now began to leave, and, after 
a short engagement on August 5th, General Lieshanin ordered the 
city to be abandoned. The remainder of the inhabitants then left, 
and in the evening General Lieshanin, with the garrison, retreated 
toward Paratchin. He did not, however, go as far as the valley of 
the Morava, but made a halt in the defiles of Bolyevatz and Lukovo. 
On the 6th the Turks entered Saitchar, and, as there were no inhabit¬ 
ants on whom to practice cruelties, they contented themselves with 
burning nearly the whole town. While these events were occurring 
on the lower Timok, Hafiz Pasha, on July 29th, attacked the Servians 
at Granada. The latter defended themselves bravely here and at 
Derwent, on July 30th and 3lst, but were forced to retire on Gur¬ 
gussovatz; all the more so since Soleiman Pasha had also entered 
Servian territory by way of Pandiralo, and could be prevented from 
marching on by Horvatovitch only with the greatest difficulty. On 
August 2d Horvatovitch was forced to abandon all his advanced 
positions on the border, and then assembled his entire forces, about 
six thousand men, in the position of Tresibaba, south of Gurgussovatz. 
Hafiz and Soleiman Pasha now united their forces, and Eyub himself 
came on to assume the chief command of the troops in the attack on 
Tresibaba. Horvatovitch continued to defend this position on the 3d 
and 4th, but was forced on the latter day to abandon it to the vastly 
superior enemy, as well as on the 6th, Gurgussovatz, where he would 
have been in danger of being completely surrounded in case of longer 


408 


THE IVAR IN SEE VIA AND MONTENEGRO. 


delay. He retreated to the defiles of Bania, and left his rear-guard at 
Tchitluk and Zerovitza and entered into close communication with the 
camps at Alexinatz against Mramor, and into the Toplitza Valley. 
At Mramor this division encountered the forces under Ali Sahib and 
the garrison of Nissa, and was forced by them to retreat. The Turks, 
however, having gained this advantage on the Timok line did not 
follow it up, but soon after abandoned their positions again; so that, 
on August 18th, Horvatovitch again entered Gurgussovatz. They 
then concentrated all their forces at Nissa, for a combined attack on 
the positions Alexinatz-Deligrad, on the Southern Morava. These 
operations were under the chief command of Abdul Kerim Pasha, the 
Minister of War. 

From Nissa he proceeded to march in a northwesterly direction, and 
on the 19th there was an outpost affair between some of his troops and 
the advance guards of the Servian garrison of Supovatz. This is a 
fortified place which, with Knuchovatz, Deligrad, and Alexinatz, forms 
an irregular triangle, Deligrad being the apex. As a fortified post, 
however, Supovatz was not very strong. It was an outwork of the 
Alexinatz position. The Turks, advancing by the left bank of the 
Morava, marched directly on Supovotz. They were twenty-five thou¬ 
sand strong, and there being only six battalions of Servian troops to 
resist them, the latter retired on Alexinatz, and Abdul Kerim Pasha 
occupied Supovatz. Next day, the 20th, he attacked the whole of the 
Servian line from Alexinatz to Banja, but was so far repelled that he 
did not succeed in getting beyond Peschitza. The battle was renewed 
day after day. The struggle was for the Alexinatz position, on which, 
since the retreat from Saitchar, Tchernayeff had staked everything. 
If the Turks succeeded in carrying it they would have only one other 
obstacle to overcome, Deligrad, supposing there to be much of a garri¬ 
son and a camp in that place. Tchernayeff' had under him an army 
of seventy-nine thousand men; and it is said that, for his attack on the 
Alexinatz position Abdul Kerim Pasha’s forces had been increased to 
forty thousand men. If he could take Alexinatz and Deligrad he 
would avoid all the passes, and have open before him a broad high 
road and the Morava Valley all the way to Belgrade. 

On the 26th the Turkish army marched down the left bank of the 
Morava, driving in the Servian foreposts at Supovatz, and pressing on 
in full view of the Alexinatz defensive lines. The cannonade was very 


THE IVAT IN SER VIA AND MONTENEGRO. 


400 



The Doseh. 

f A religious form of bodily suffering observed by the followers of Mohammed, in order to gain 
favor with God.J 

heavy; and its smoke, and that of the villages burnt by the Turks, 
filled the whole valley with a lurid cloud. The brunt of the Servian 
defence fell upon the Alexinatz brigade of militia, supported by a re¬ 
inforcement of artillery and infantry from Deligrad. The fighting 
















410 THE [VAR IN SER VIA AND MONTENEGRO. 

was long and obstinate, for the Turks were in great strength. The 
battle lasted for hours about the village of Tessica, which was smothered 
in the smoke of the combat, but the Servian infantry withstood all 
assaults valiantly, and the artillery displayed remarkable skill and 
valor. About four o’clock the Turkish retreat commenced, the Ser¬ 
vians having assumed the offensive. The Turks were driven back 
across the frontier with heavy loss. 

After the failure of these operations, Abdul Kerim determined to 
unite his entire army on the left bank, effect a greater extension toward 
the west, to pass by Alexinatz and Deligrad, and if possible, to descend 
into the valley of the Morava on the left bank. Eyub Pasha was 
therefore ordered to cross over to the left bank of the river at Peschitza, 
while on the right bank there remained but a few bodies of irregular 
troops. These, in order to cover the crossing of Eyub, attacked Alexi¬ 
natz on the 28th, and then retired again. On August 30th Abdul 
Kerim had gathered his main army on the left bank, near Peschitza. 

On the morning of September 1st the positions of the Servian lines 
were pretty nearly as follows: Their extreme right was thrown out a 
little to the south and west beyond the village of Sitkowatz, and went 
northward of that village as far as Precilowitz, another village. The 
Servians also occupied Mersel, close to the road on the left bank of 
the Morava and Belja, which is on rising ground. On the southwest 
side of Belja the left of the Servians extended back, in a northeasterly 
direction, along the Alexinatz position. 

In the battle which followed the Servians were defeated, after fight¬ 
ing all day; and the Turks got possession of the whole left bank of 
the Morava, opposite the town of Alexinatz, and of the road which 
leads westward to Kruchovatz; but not of the northern road, from 
Alexinatz to Deligrad, which is the high road to Belgrade through 
the Morava Valley. For some hours the battle was almost entirely 
one of artillery, commencing with three batteries which were ad¬ 
vanced from Drenovat, and which at first were only encountered by 
two on the Servian side. The Turks made a creeping advance in a 
northeasterly direction, the Servian batteries, which were at Belja, 
and the more northerly Suotna—for there are two villages of that 
name—offering a very steady resistance by a well-sustained and regular 
fire. But the Servian infantry, which behaved very ill, failing to 
support the artillery position, it was turned, -about nightfall, by an 


THE WAR IN' SER VTA AND MONTENEGRO. 


411 


advance of the Turkish infantry, enabling the army of Abdul Kerim 
Pasha to get far on past the town, and threatening to cut off the 
retreat to Deligrad. 

The Servian front was about four miles long on the left bank of the 
Morava, the force holding it consisting of about twenty-five thousand 
infantry, and, perhaps, twenty-five batteries of cannon. At the same 
time, on the right bank and round to the east of Alexinatz, a perfectly 
distinct battle was proceeding, the whole of the Turkish forces no 
doubt acting in concert, while the Servians were embarrassed by the 
wide area of the attacks which threatened Alexinatz. A Turkish force, 
at daybreak, had a fight with musketry and artillery against a Servian 
detachment in Katan, on the right bank. Katan was fired and tho 
Servians compelled to evacuate it. Then, to the east, from the direc¬ 
tion of St. Stephen and Stanej, the Turks pressed forward on Pracovacz, 
within an hour of Alexinatz, but the main battle was in the valley 
and the slopes of the left bank of the Morava; and to this we have 
chiefly confined our attention. A number of Russian officers were there 
killed while bravely attempting to keep the Servians up to their work. 

After remaining ten days in apparent inaction, without following 
up their victory of September 1st in the neighborhood of Alexinatz, 
the Turkish army recommenced its movements against the Servian 
positions still held between that town and Deligrad. On September 
10th the Turks attempted to throw a bridge over the Morava, near 
Trjnan, but were repulsed by the Servians. They made a second 
attempt on the 11th, at Bovovichte, when a severely-contested engage¬ 
ment ensued along the whole line between Yonkonja and Nijni 
Adrovatz. The Turks were again repulsed. The Montenegrins, under 
Macho Verbitza, particularly distinguished themselves in this affair; 
Yerbitza was slightly wounded. The fighting began again on the 12th 
on both banks of the Morava, from Trjnan to Bovovichte. The Ser¬ 
vians succeeded in throwing a bridge over the river below Katun, 
perceiving which the Turks made signals with lights in order to warn 
the bulk of their forces of the Servian movement. The Circassian 
and other Turkish cavalry charged the Servians, and an engagement 
ensued along the whole line, the result of which was. favorable for the 
Servians, who succeeded iu driving back the Turks to a distance pf 
two or three miles from the left bank of the Morava. 

The Montenegrins, at the cpmipencenient of hostilities, yere divide*! 


412 


THE IVAR IN SERF/A AND MONTENEGRO. 


into two corps; the one on the southern frontier, opposite the Turkish 
positions of Medun, Podgoritza, and Scutari, kept itself strictly on the 
defensive; while the other, on the frontier towards Herzegovina, took 
the offensive, and marched upon Stolatz in several columns. One 
column on the right had marched toward Gatchko, taken several 
works before the city, and tried to surround it. Selim Pasha left the 
necessary garrison in it, and then marched with two battalions toward 
Nevesigne, intending to go from there to Mostar, where he was to 
meet Mukhtar Pasha. On the 11th of July the central column, said 
to have been led by Prince Nicholas in person, appeared before Stolatz, 
and, after a short engagement, occupied it as well as the surrounding 
forts. 

On the 16th the Montenegrins attacked Selim Pasha at Nevesigne, 
and forced him to retire to Blagui, where they defeated him again on 
the 17th. But now Mukhtar Pasha came up from Mostar with 
reserves, and on the 19th found before him but four Montenegrin 
battalions, which he defeated after a brave resistance. After this 
event the entire Montenegrin forces retreated by way of Nevesigne, 
Gatchko, and Korito. Mukhtar Pasha, who followed on more westerly 
courses, intended to get ahead of them and cut off their retreat to 
Montenegro. At the same time, the Turkish corps of Albania was to 
attack the southern border. On July 27th Mukhtar Pasha arrived at 
the convent of Plana, several miles north of Bilsk, and from there 
intended, on the 28th, to march to the left and attack the Montene¬ 
grins in the rear. He therefore ordered the commander of Bilek to 
take a position to the east of the city and to await further orders, so 
that he might be able to assist Mukhtar Pasha if necessary. At the 
same time, the commandant of Trebigne was ordered to send up a 
train of provisions—which was certainly a difficult order to fulfill, 
considering that he had very scant provisions himself. On July 28th 
Mukhtar Pasha began his march from Plana in three columns; but 
he had hardly set out on his march when, to his astonishment, he was 
attacked by the Montenegrins. The advanced guard retreated as the 
Turks began to reply to their fire, and on its retreat was reinforced by 
>ther corps on its flanks. The Turks, as usual, were accompanied by 
Bashi-Bazouks, who, as soon as they saw that there was to be serious 
fighting, took to flight, in which they -also involved some of the other 
battalions. As soon as the Montenegrins saw this they set out in 


THE IVA E IN SEE VIA AND MONTENEGEO. 


413 


pursuit, cutting down with their long knives every one who came in 
their way. The Turkish regulars were cut down while fighting bravely 
for their artillery. Among the prisoners taken was Osman Pasha, 
the commander of one of the three Turkish columns. Mukhtar Pasha 
retreated to Bilek, and, not finding here the necessary means to 
restore his army, continued his retreat to Trebigne, where he arrived 
July 29th. 

The allied Montenegrins and Herzegovinians immediately separated 
into several corps, one of which took up its position before Bilek, 
-while the others blocked up the roads leading from Trebigne. Mukh¬ 
tar Pasha, from Trebigne, sent repeated messages to Constantinople 
asking for aid, which in due time was rendered him. On September 
2d he set out from Trebigne with twelve thousand men, crossed the 
frontier on the 3d, at Saslap, and, after a short engagement at Zagona, 
intrenched himself at Saslap, the Montenegrins taking up their posi¬ 
tions opposite to him. Occasional engagements now took place between 
the different outposts, until on September 16th, complete quiet began 
to prevail here also. 

On the southern border of Montenegro the Fort Medun was the 
centre of operations. The Montenegrins succeeded in surrounding it, 
and repulsed several attempts of the Turks to provision it. In the 
beginning of August the Turks received considerable reinforcements; 
and on August 15th, Mahmoud Pasha, the Turkish commander, 
attacked the Montenegins, but was completely routed, his losses being 
very great. Mahmoud Pasha was summoned before a court-martial, 
and was succeeded by Dervish Pasha. On the 6th of September he 
crossed to the north shore of Moratcha, at Rogatzi, and there attacked 
the Montenegrins, but was repulsed with great loss. On the 11th he 
atempted another battle, on the heights of Welie Brodo, northwest of 
Podgoritza, but was forced to retreat to the latter city. 

f 

\ 


414 


EFFORTS FOR PEACE . 


CHAPTER XXV. 

EFFORTS FOR PEACE. 

When, in July, Servia and Montenegro had declared war against 
the Porte, the other dependencies of Turkey occupied various attitudes 
towards her. Herzegovina and Bosnia were in revolt; an insurrection 
had occurred in Bulgaria, which had been put down with severity. 
Egypt reluctantly sent the contingent of troops demanded by the 
Porte. Roumania occupied a neutral attitude, stationing a corps of 
observation on her frontier and carefully guarding her neutrality. 
On July 16th the Roumanian government addressed a memorandum 
to the guaranteeing powers, expressing the desire that the Porte should 
recognize the historical name of Roumania for the united principalities 
of Wallachia and Moldavia, as the other powers had done. It deman¬ 
ded the recognition of a Roumanian representative as one of the ac¬ 
credited diplomatic body at Constantinople; a definition of boundaries 
relative to the islands of the Danube which belong partly to Turkey 
and to Roumania; and, further, it demanded for Roumania the privi¬ 
lege of making trade, postal, telegraphic, and delivery contracts; 
and finally, a rectification of the boundaries on the lower Danube, so as 
to assure a free use of the stream to the adjacent Roumanians. 

The declaration of war by Servia was followed by a like act on the 
part of Montenegro. Under these circumstances the European pow T ers 
were constrained to consider what policy they should adopt in reference 
to the new questions that were arising. The Turkish government 
declared its purpose not to recognize Servia and Montenegro as war¬ 
making powers; toward Servia, in particular, as being a vassal-state, 
it would place itself on the ground of formal right. The Porte had 
signed the Convention of Ghent of 1864, which provided for the 
immunity of the sanitary organizations of belligerents and for the care 
of the wounded; but it w r as announced that Montenegro and Servia 
not being recognized as belligerents, the stipulations of the treatv 
would not be regarded as binding with, respect to them. The inter¬ 
national committee of the Convention of Ghent addressed a memorial 



EFFORTS FOR PEACE . 


415 



to the powers which had signed the treaty, in which, without discussing 
the political question set up by Turkey, it suggested that any power 
as party to the convention was under a double obligation, in case of a 
civil war, to observe its stipulations toward its own subjects. It did 
not become necessary for the powers to take action on the subject, for, 
at the instance of the English government, the Turkish commanders 
were ordered to observe the principles of the convention, in their 
dealings with the insurgents. 

Sultan Murad V., soon after his accession, revealed his inability to 
cope with the difficulties of his situation, and his incapacity became 



















416 


EFFORTS FOR PEACE. 


more manifest as those difficulties grew with the louder demands of 
the powers upon the Porte. He became afflicted with fits of melan¬ 
choly and stupor. A physician was called in from Vienna, who 
examined into his case and gave the opinion that he was in an 
irresponsible condition; his disease could not be pronounced incurable, 
yet it demanded a complete release from business. Acting upon this 
advice, the Ministerial Council decided, August 31st, that Murad 
should be deposed. The Sheikh-ul-Islam was consulted, as he had 
been in the case of Abdul-Aziz, and, he giving a favorable response, 
the deposition was effected in a very quiet manner. 

Abdul Hamid, who had been named as the new Sultan, went in 
state to the palace of Top Kapou, where he was received by all the 
Ministers and high functionaries. After the Fetvah deposing Murad 
V., on the ground of ill health, had been read, the ceremony of ac¬ 
knowledging and proclaiming the new Sultan, under the title of Abdul 
Hamid II. took place. His Majesty’s accession was enthusiastically 
received by the troops and the people assembled. The Sultan after¬ 
wards repaired to the palace, salutes of artillery being fired during his 
progress. The ceremony of the Salamlik was performed next day, 
and the Imperial Hatt proclaiming the new Sultan’s accession was 
read at the Mosque of Eyoub on the 9th of September. 

The Ir perial decree proclaiming the accession of Sultan Abdul 
Hamid II. dec’ared that his Majesty ascended the throne in conformity 
with the prescriptions of Ottoman law. The Grand Vizier, Ministers, 
and other functionaries, who were confirmed in their posts, w r ere 
enjoined to assure the liberty of all subjects of the Porte without 
distinction, to maintain public tranquility, and watch over the proper 
administration of justice. “The critical condition of the Empire,” 
continues the Imperial decree, “ arises from a bad application of the 
laws. Hence have resulted financial discredit, defective "working of 
the tribunals, and the non-development of trade, manufactures, and 
agriculture. To remedy these evils a special council will be charged 
to guarantee the exact execution of existing laws or those measures 
which may be promulgated. The council will also superintend the 
Budget. Public functions will be intrusted to capable persons, who 
will be held responsible, and will no longer be dismissed without 
cause.” The Ministers were requested to take measures for the exten¬ 
sion of public education, and to carry out reforms destined to ameliorate 


EFFORTS FOR PEACE . 


417 


the administrative and financial position of the country. tf Herzegovina 
and Bosnia/’ said the Sultan’s Government, “revolted in consequence 
of malevolent instigations, and Servia joined this rebellion. The bloov 
that has been shed on both sides is that of children of the same countrj 
The Ministers will take efficacious measures to terminate this ques 
tion.” The Imperial Hatt confirmed all existing treaties with foreigi 
Powers, and stated that the Ministers would carry them out, anc 
would endeavor to strengthen and extend the good relations between 
Turkey and foreign States. Halif Pedif Pasha was appointed Minister 
of War in the place of Abdul Kerim Pasha, w r ho took the command 
of the army, and Savfet Pasha was appointed Minister of Foreign 
Affairs, in the place of the Minister who had been murdered by 
Hassan. 

The European powers, especially Austria and England, made efforts 
both at the Turkish and the Servian capital to secure armistice. The 
Servians insisted upon the accomplishment of the single purpose with 
which they had begun hostilities—the freedom of their Slavic brethren 
—and would listen to no propositions which did not have that end in 
view. As a condition to an armistice with Servia, the Porte demanded 
that Servia should ask for it; Turkey had no interest in demanding an 
armistice, and could only take it into consideration as a preliminary 
to peace. Sir Henry Elliot, the English representative, requested 
Savet Pasha to name conditions of peace, which the powers might 
consider and impose upon Servia if they approved them; but an armis¬ 
tice, he said, was indispensable, to give the powers time to come to 
an understanding concerning the proposed conditions. Finally, by 
strenuous exertions, an armistice of seven days, to expire on September 
25th, was agreed to between the Turkish and the Servian Govern¬ 
ments, by the mediation of the British Government at Constantinople 
and at Belgrade. It extended, of course, to the hostilities with Mon¬ 
tenegro. The Sultan’s Government submitted to the Ministers of the 
six foreign powers—Great Britain, Russia, Austria, Germany, France, 
and Italy—a statement of the conditions it would ask. These w r ere, 
the possession by Turkish troops of the four old fortresses in Servia— 
namely, those of Belgrade, Semendria, Schabatz, and Loshnitza— 
which w T ere held by Turkey before 1857; the demolition of all other 
Servian fortresses; the reduction of the Servian army to ten thousand 
men; the performance of an act of personal homage to the Sultan by 
27 


418 


EFFORTS FOR PEACE. 


Prince Milan at Constantinople; the payment of an indemnity or 
increased tribute to the Sultan; the construction of a railway under 
Turkish management, to join Belgrade with Nish, Adrianople, and the 
Turkish capital; and the expulsion of all people who have emigrated 
from the adjacent Turkish provinces into Servia. 

The powers at once pronounced several of these conditions unreason¬ 
able. Turkey afterwards consented to waive or to modify two or 
three of her demands, such as the personal homage, and to accept the 
surrender of two instead of four Servian fortresses. In the meantime 
a fresh act of defiance to Turkey was committed in the Servian camp 
at Deligrad. The troops there, amongst whom there were not less than 
five thousand Russian volunteers, many Russian officers or non-com¬ 
missioned officers, on September 16 th proclaimed Prince Milan King 
of Servia. Their officers assembled and came to General Tchernayeff 
to announce this declaration. The chaplains or regimental priests of 
the army consecrated it with a solemn religious service. The General 
formally accepted this important act and communicated it to the 
officers commanding at Paratjin and elsewhere, besides sending an 
account of it to Prince Milan, whom he saluted as King. This affair 
caused disquiet to the powers and the adjacent territories, and threat¬ 
ened to embarrass the negotiations for peace. But the Servian 
Government, under the direction of Mr. Risticz, wa3 constrained to 
disavow it, and caused the deputation from the army to be turned 
back before it had reached Belgrade. 

On the 7th of October the representatives of the powers formally 
proposed to the Porte an armistice of six weeks. On the 12th the 
Porte, in reply, offered to grant an armistice of six months beginning 
October, 1876, during which period the Servians would be expected 
not to molest those places which were then in possession of the Turks; 
the introduction of ammunition and arms for Montenegro and Srrvia 
should not be permitted; and all transactions calculated to arouse 
discontent in the neighboring provinces were to be avoided. In 
connection with this proposition, the Turkish government submitted 
the draft of a new constitution which had been prepared for the whole 
empire. 

General Ignatiev, Russian Ambassador, who had been absent for a 
considerable time, returned to Constantinople on the 19th. He at 
once conferred with the representatives of the other powers, and 


Tartar Girls at School. 


EFFORTS FOR PEACE . 


419 
























































































































































































































































































































420 


EFFORTS FOR PEACE. 


expressely reiterated the demand of Russia for the autonomy of Bul¬ 
garia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, and for the accomplishment of the 
reforms promised by Turkey, under the direction of a commission of 
the European powers. The action of the Russian Ambassador was 
regarded with alarm by the Turks, for they looked upon it as an 
indication that Russia had determined upon an ultimatum with the 
alternative of war. 

Unfavorable rumors came from Roumania to the effect that Prince 
Charles had refused to proclaim the accession of Abdul Hamid as 
Sultan; that he had granted permission to Russia to convey troops 
through his territory; and that a large gathering of troops had been 
ordered near Galatz, for the autumnal manoeuvres. On the 23d, it 
was discovered that a plot had been formed among the adherents of 
the late Sultan for the deposition of Abdul Hamid and the installation 
of Yusuf Izzedin Effendi, son of Abdul Aziz. At the head of the 
conspiracy were Meshid-Din Effendi, who had been an aspirant for 
the office of Sheikh-ul-Islam; Riza Beg, who had been director of the 
archives; the Circassian, Ramiz Pasha, and several eminent ulemas. 
The conspiracy, which had many adherents among the fanatical Mos¬ 
lems, was intended to be carried out on November 1st, but was betrayed, 
the leaders secretly disposed of, and many of their followers banished 
to the islands of the Archipelago. 

The suspension of hostilities was interrupted by several slight con¬ 
flicts. The Servian army in the Morava Valley, under General 
Tchernayeff, having refused a prolongation of the armistice, began 
fighting again, attacking the Turkish positions. A considerable en¬ 
gagement took place September 28th, and was maintained obstinately 
during twelve hours, but without any decisive result. At six in the 
morning of that day seventeen Servian batteries opened fire, five of 
them on the left bank of the Morava, against the Turks. The line of 
battle extended from Drusevacz by Alexinatz and Deligrad, and on 
the heights along the eastern bank of the Djuniska mountain stream as 
far as Veliki Sitjegova. An hour later, the Servian infantry advanced. 
In front towards the Morava, the attack was directed against the 
Turkish bridge. But a more vehement attack was made on the 
Turkish left wing, commanded by Hafiz and Adeh Pashas, in order 
to cut off the line of retreat of the Turks to Nish. Sixteen Servian 
battalions crossed the Morava at Drusevaez, on a pontoon bridge 


EFFORTS FOR PEACE. 


421 


thrown across during the night, and advanced by Tesicza against the 
Turkish right wing under Fazly Pasha. It was a double flanking 
movement, which, with the insufficiency of the forces and the badnesf 
of the Servian troops, w T as not justified, and therefore completely failed. 
At noon the Servians had been driven back on all points, with great 
loss; and the artillery fire, which had been kept up since the early 
morning, stopped for a short time. In the afternoon the attacks 
against the Turkish left flank were renewed, and again in the evening, 
but were at all times repulsed with great loss. Among the Servian 
dead were many Russian officers, who could always be seen in the front 
of the attacking column. Both armies at the close of the engagement 
still held their former positions. On the 29th of September General 
TchernayefF made an unsuccessful assault upon the Turkish left wing. 
On the 30th the Turks opened an effective artillery fire and established 
themselves upon the Sudak stream, occupied Gredetin and Pesh- 
tchanitza, and on the following day the heights on the left bank of 
the stream. No further actions worthy of notice occurred till the 19th 
of October. On that day the Turks attacked the Servian intrench- 
men ts about Djunis, a few miles west of Alexinatz, on the road to 
Kruchewatz, by w T hich they threatened to turn the right of the 
Servian position at Deligrad, and to break through the barrier, closing 
the Morava Valley against them in their advance towards Belgrade. 
The troops of the Porte occupied thirteen fortified positions of the 
Servians, w ho were totally defeated, and lost a large number of men 
killed. On the day of the festival of Bairam, in the midst of a storm 
of rain and wind, the Turks simultaneously attacked Buimir, a posi¬ 
tion to the south of Alexinatz, on the left bank of the Morava, and 
the line from Veliki Siljegovacz to Gredetin, held by the troops of 
Colonel Horvatovitch. The infantry advanced slowly, but almost 
without interruption. The Servians in their forests defended them¬ 
selves with the utmost pertinacity. Sometimes the hand-to-hand fight¬ 
ing lasted half an hour at one spot; but the fury of the Turkish 
soldiers was irresistible; the fortified villages and redoubts were taken 
by storm, and the Servians were driven into the western mountains. 
The Servian losses were very great. The battle ended at four o’clock 
in the afternoon, on account of the darkness. There was also fighting 
in another direction, on the same day, near the old battle-ground of 
Saitschar. Here the Servians moved their troops up against the 


422 


EFFORTS FOR PEACE. 


Turkish positions in front of Saitschar by the Lukovo and the Banja 
Passes, and, assisted by a large number of Russians, fought with the 
greatest gallantry; but they encountered a serious resistance at 
Pianinitza. One brigade, commanded by Colonel Medvedsisky, was 
almost completely annihilated. Another Servian force, operating 
against Kopit, under the Russian General Nossilovski, was routed 
with fearful loss, and was beaten back to Lukovo, the Turks, in their 
pursuit, carrying the important position of Boljevatz. It seems to be 
admitted that, under their Russian officers (there are now fourteen to 
every battalion), the Servians fought better than they had fought 
before. The headquarters of the Servian army, under Tchernayeff, 
were transferred to Kavnik. 

On the 29th of October a severe defeat was inflicted upon the 
Russo-Servian army of General Tchernayeff. The hill of Djunis, or 
Trubavena, which commands the valley of the Morava opposite Deli- 
grad, was stormed by the Turkish army divisions of Hafiz Pasha and 
Soleiman Pasha. The Servian militia, either from cowardice or ill- 
will towards the Russian officers in command, refused to fight. The 
brunt of the conflict was borne by a thousand Russian volunteers. 
These fought with desperate intrepidity, and several hundreds of them 
were killed. But, as most of the Servian troops fled, the position had 
to be abandoned, after fighting some hours. The line of General 
Tchernaveff’s intrenched posts and detachments of troops was thereby 
cut in two, and the Turks got possession of the western road leading 
to Kruehevatz. General Tchernayeff was then compelled to retire 
from Deligrad, and to leave the towm of Alexinatz to its fate. That 
town, after a long bombardment, surrendered to the Turks on the 
31st. The Servian headquarters w r as fixed at Razanj for a day or 
two, but as it seemed now as though no material resistance could be 
offered to a Turkish march either upon Belgrade or upon Kragojevatz, 
the chief military arsenal of Servia, Russia interfered with her ulti¬ 
matum, on the evening of October 31st, demanding the assent of 
Turkey within forty-eight hours to an armistice of two months, as the 
alternative of her recalling her ambassador from Constantinople. 
The armistice was agreed to, the Servians w r ere released from their 
peril, and orders were sent from Constantinople to the Turkish com¬ 
manders" to cease the military operations in Servia. 

On the 2d of November, Lord Loftus, the British Ambassador in 


EFFORTS FOR FEACE 


423 



The Muezzin Calling to Prayers 





































































424 


EFFORTS FOR PEACE. 


Russia, had an interview with the Emperor Alexander, in which 
“ Hi3 Majesty pledged his sacred word of honor, in the most earnest 
and solemn manner, that he had no intention of acquiring Constanti¬ 
nople, and that, if necessity should oblige him to occupy a portion of 
Bulgaria, it would only be provisionally, and until the peace and 
the safety of the Christian population were secured.” 

A few days later (10th November), the Emperor made a speech at 
Moscow, in which he said, “ I have striven, and shall still strive, to 
obtain a real improvement of the position of the Christians in the 
East by peaceful means. But, should I see that we cannot obtain 
such guarantees as are necessary for carrying out what we have a 
right to demand of the Porte, I am firmly determined to act inde¬ 
pendently ; and I am convinced that in this case, the whole of Russia 
will respond to my summons, should I consider it necessary, and 
should the honor of Russia require it.” 

On the 13th Prince Gortchakoflf published a circular declaring that 
Russia did not desire war, and would do her utmost to prevent it, yet 
she would not cease her efforts until the humane principles for which 
she contended were fully established. 

• Meanwhile, on the 4th of November, the Earl of Derby addressed 
a circular to the British representatives at foreign courts, suggesting 
a conference at Constantinople, to be composed of two representatives 
from each of the great powers, including Turkey. 

The Grand Council at Constantinople signified, November 19th, 
the acceptance by the Porte of the projected conference. On the 
same day,* GortchakofF formulated another important circular, ac¬ 
quainting the Powers with the details of their demands. 

General Iguatieff was instructed to submit to the Conference the 
following programme: 1, General disarmament of Turks and Chris¬ 
tians in Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Bulgaria; 2, the election of all 
officers by the parishes, none but natives being eligible; 3, the forma¬ 
tion of a militia and a police, to consist of Christians and Mussulmans, 
in proportion to the numerical strength of each denomination; 4, the 
concentration of the Turkish troops in certain towns, to be fixed in 
advance; 5, the disbanding of the irregular troops and the return of 
the Circassians to the purely Mussulman provinces; 6, the abolition 
of the practice of farming out taxes and the replacement of tithes by 
pecuniary imposts, to be fixed with the concurrence of the rate-payers 


EFFORTS FOR PEACE. 


425 


7, the use by the Courts and administrative authorities of the several 
Slavonic languages spoken in the various provinces; 8, the convening 
of an Assembly of Notables, to advise the conference upon the 
administrative reforms to be introduced. (It seems intended that a 
special assembly is to be convened for each province, and that the 
Bulgarian Bishop is to preside over the sittings of the Bulgarian 
Notables;) 9, Christian Governors to be appointed by the Porte, with 
the consent of the Powers, for the three provinces, to officiate five or six 
years; 10, the punishment of all persons concerned in the late horrors 
and the indemnification of the families who have suffered; 11, the 
institution of Consular Commissions to superintend the carrying out 
of the above reforms. 

The preliminary conference at Constantinople was opened on the 
11th of December in the palace of the Russian Embassy, aud was 
participated in by representatives from Great Britain, France, Russia, 
Austria, Hungary, Germany, and Italy. The preliminary conference 
came to an end on December 21st; and General Ingatieff, in inform¬ 
ing the Porte of the fact, invited it to send its representative to the 
definite conference, which was to begin its sessions on December 23d. 

In the middle of December an important change in the Government 
had taken place. The Grand Vizier Mehemet Rushdi Pasha resigned, 
and Midhat Pasha succeeded him. This put an end to a long 
struggle between the two foremost men at the Porte, there having 
been an irreconcileable difference of opinion between the Grand Vizier 
and Midhat Pasha with regard to the constitution that had been 
drawn up under the direction of Midhat. 

On the 23d of December the conference assembled under Savfet 
Pasha’s presidency. Savfet Pasha, in opening the proceedings, spoke 
of the liberal views of the Sublime Porte, which, he said, was ready to 
grant its subjects all privileges that were not contrary to the dignity 
and integrity of the Empire. The conference first proceeded to verify 
the full powers of the Plenipotentiaries. A short time after the 
opening of the proceedings salvoes of artillery were heard, and Savfet 
Pasha explained that the salutes announced the promulgation of the 
Constitution, which would effect a complete change in the state of 
Turkey. 

The new Constitution provides for the indivisibility of the Empire 
in the first place, and in the next place affirms that the Sultan is the 





426 


EFFORTS TOR PEACE. 


Caliph of Mussulmans and Sovereign of all the Ottomans. Islam is 
the religion of the state, but the government is not to be a theocracy, 
and subjects of all religions and races are to have equal rights. There ( 
are to be two legislative houses—the Senate, to be nominated by the ! 
Sultan; the Chamber of Deputies, to be elected by ballot in the pro¬ 
portion of one member to every one hundred thousand inhabitants. ] 
The members of both Houses are to be' paid, and there is to be a j 
dissolution every four years. Local government is provided for by a 
system of municipal councils. 

The second session of the conference was held on the 28th, when it 
was resolved to prolong the armistice to March 1st, after but little 
opposition from General Ignatieff. During the subsequent sittings 
the conference was almost brought to a dead-lock by the steadfast 
refusal of Turkey to assent to the joint resolutions of Great Britain 
and Russia and the other foreign powers. The Ministers of the Sultan, 
represented by Savfet Pasha, objected to the appointment of an Inter- • 
national Commission for one year, to superintend the execution of the 
proposed reforms; and they also resisted the employment even of a 
very small number of foreign troops, either to serve as a nucleus for 
the creation of a native armed police force, consisting equally of Chris¬ 
tian and Mussulman subjects of Turkey, or to serve as a body-guard 
for the International Commission visiting the different provinces of 
the Empire. The Grand Council of the Turkish Empire assembled on 
January 18th, and in consequence of resolutions unanimously taken by 
them, the Sultan’s Government finally refused to consent to the pro¬ 
posals of the foreign powers. So the diplomatic conference was broken 
up, followed by the departure from Constantinople of all the foreign j 
Ambassadors, as well as the special envoys or Plenipotentiaries of 
their respective governments. The Grand Council of the Porte was 
composed of two hundred and forty members, of whom fifty-four were 
Christians. Among the members present were the Armenian and 
Roman Catholic Patriarchs and the Great Rabbi. In the course of 
his speech Midhat Pasha, the Grand Vizier, referred to the threatened 
departure of the Ambassadors. Those of France and England, he 
said, had declared that their governments would neither make war 
upon Turkey nor lend her any assistance. Austria was neutral, but* 
it was to be feared that she would not be able to resist the demands 
of her Slavonic subjects. Only one dissentient voice, that of the 



EFFORTS FOR PEACE. 


427 



Discussing the Eastern Question at a Ministerial Council, Constantinople. 

delegate of the Armenian Protestants, was raised, it seems, when the 
Council passed the resolution rejecting the proposals of the powers. 
At the close of the proceedings a vote of confidence was passed in the 
government, and it was authorized to continue the negotiations, if 
necessary, on the basis of such proposals as were not in conflict with 
the Constitution. 

The final meeting of the conference took place January 20th. On 
the assembling of the Plenipotentiaries Savfet Pasha read a note based 
on the decisions of the meeting of the Grand Council on the previous 
Thursday. In this document no notice was taken about the appoint¬ 
ment of provincial governors, while with respect to the International 
Commission the note proposed to substitute an elective commission, to 
be presided over by an Ottoman functionary. All the questions 
relating to Servia and Montenegro were reserved for ulterior decision. 
Lord Salisbury thereupon declared that the conference must be 














































































428 


EFFORTS FOR PEACE. 


considered at an end, the Porte having refused the two guarantees 
which were demanded of it. General Ignatieff spoke to the same 
effect, and expressed a hope that the Porte would not enter upon 
further hostilities against Servia and Montenegro, but would cause the 
position of its Christian subjects to be respected. The Russian Am¬ 
bassador further remarked that the members of the conference had 
received petitions from the Christians of Macedonia, Thessaly, Epirus, 
and Crete, requesting the conference to occupy itself with improving 
their condition. It had not been possible to take these petitions into 
consideration, as the task assigned to the conference was limited in its 
scope; but his Excellency was anxious to state the fact at the closing 
sitting of the European Plenipotentiaries. 

After the failure of the conference at Constantinople, Prince Gort- 
chakoff issued a circular, in which, after reciting what had occurred, 
he said, “ It is necessary for us to know what the cabinets, with which 
we have hitherto acted in common, propose to do, with the view of 
meeting this refusal, and insuring the execution of their wishes.” 

But, before any response had been made to this request for informa¬ 
tion, the Russian Government, lest it might be embarrassed if the 
other powers should not agree, prepared a protocol, which was signed 
by the representatives of the six great powers at London, on the 31st 
of March, 1877. It is here subjoined: 

“ The Powers who have undertaken in common the pacification of 
the East, and have with that view taken part in the Conference of 
Constantinople, recognize that the surest means of attaining the object 
which they have proposed to themselves is, before all, to maintain the 
agreement so happily established between them, and jointly to affirm 
afresh the common interest which they take in the improvement of the 
condition of the Christian populations of Turkey, and in the reforms 
to be introduced in Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Bulgaria, which the 
Porte has accepted on condition of itself carrying them into execution. 

They take cognizance of the conclusion of peace with Servia. 

As regards Montenegro, the Powers consider the rectification of the 
frontiers and the free navigation of the Boiana to be desirable in the 
interest of a solid and durable arrangement. 

The Powers consider the arrangements concluded, or to be con¬ 
cluded, between the Porte and the two principalities as a step accom¬ 
plished towards the pacification which is the object of their 
wishes. 


common 


EFFORTS FOR PEACE. 


429 


They invite the Porte to consolidate it by replacing its armies on a 
peace footing, excepting the number of troops indispensable for the 
maintenance of order, and by putting in hand with the least possible 
delay the reforms necessary for the tranquility and well-being of the 
provinces, the condition of which was discussed at the conference. 
They recognize that the Porte has declared itself ready to realize an 
important portion of them. 

They take cognizance specially of the circular of the Porte of 
February 13, 1876, and of the declarations made by the Ottoman 
Government during the conference, and since through its represen¬ 
tatives. 

In view of these good intentions on the part of the Porte, and of its 
evident interest to carry them immediately into effect, the Powers 
believe that they have grounds for hoping that the Porte will profit 
by the present lull to apply energetically such measures as will cause 
that effective improvement in the condition of the Christian population 
which is unanimously called for as indispensable to the tranquility of 
Europe, and that, having once entered on this path, it will understand 
that it concerns its honor as well as its interests to persevere in it 
loyally and efficaciously. 

The powers propose to watch carefully, by means of their Represen¬ 
tatives at Constantinople and their local agents, the manner in which 
the promises of the Ottoman Government are carried into effect. 

If their hopes should once more be disappointed, and if the condition 
of the Christian subjects of the Sultan should not be improved in a 
manner to prevent the return of the complications which periodically 
disturb the peace of the East, they think it right to declare that such 
a state of affairs would be incompatible with their interests and those 
of Europe in general. In such case, they reserve to themselves to 
consider in common as to the means which they may deem best fitted 
to seen re the well-being of the Christian populations, and the interests 
of the general peace/ 

On affixing his signature, the Russian Ambassador filed the follow¬ 
ing declaration. 

“ If peace with Montenegro is concluded, and the Porte accepts the 
advice of Europe, and shows itself ready to replace its forces on a 
peace-footing, and seriously to undertake the reforms mentioned in the 
protocol, let it send to St. Petersburg a special envoy to treat of dis- 


430 


EFFORTS FOR PEACE. 


armament, to which his Majesty the Emperor would also, on his part, 
consent. 

If massacres similar to those which have stained Bulgaria with 
blood take place, this would neccessarily put a stop to the measures of 
demobilization.” 

The protocol was rejected at Constantinople on the ground that it in¬ 
volved the virtual abdication of sovereignty by Turkey in its European 
provinces, and a disrespecful outside pressure for reforms which the 
Porte professed itself willing to inaugurate of its own accord. On the 
12th of April, with much other matter of the same sort, professing 
willingness to reform but demanding to be allowed to do it in its own 
way, the Porte wrote as follows: 

“ Turkey cannot allow for.eign agents or representatives, charged to 
protect the interests of their compatriots, to have any mission of official 
supervision. The Imperial Government, in fact, is not aware how it 
can have deserved so ill of justice and civilization as to see itself 
placed in a humiliating position without example in the world. The 
Treaty of Paris gave an explicit sanction to the principle of non-inter¬ 
vention. This treaty, which binds together the powers who participated 
in it, as well as Turkey, cannot be abolished by a protocol in which 
Turkey has had no share; and, if Turkey appeals to the stipulations 
of the Treaty of Paris, it is not that that treaty has created in her 
favor any rights which she would not possess without it, but rather 
for the purpose of calling attention to grave reasons, which, in interest 
of the general peace in Europe, induced the powers twenty years ago 
to place the recognition of the inviolability of this empire’s right to 
sovereignty under guarantee of collective promise.” 

In the meantime a ministerial crisis had taken place at Constanti¬ 
nople, by the'sudden fall of Midhat Pasha, the Grand Vizier aud 
Prime Minister of the Sultan, who so recently had managed to hold 
his Government in an attitude of firm opposition to the European 
Powers, and who had contrived the plausible scheme of constitutional * 
reforms for the Turkish Empire. He was not only dismissed from 
office, but signally disgraced and sent into exile without an hour’s | 
delay. This astonishing transaction was performed by the mere act 
of Sultan Abdul Hamid personally, as absolute ruler of Turkey. It 
took place on the 5th of February, when Midhat Pasha was sent for, 
and the Imperial order banishing this Minister from Turkish territory 




A Travelling Tsigane Family, 


El* FORTS FOR RE ACE. 


431 















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































432 


EFFORTS FOR PEACE. 


was read to him immediately on his arrival at the palace. The Porte 
sent a despatch to its Ambassadors abroad declaring that Midhat 
Pasha was exiled because his conduct had been of a nature to shake 
the confidence reposed in him. It was added, however, that this 
event would not change the policy of the Government, and that it was 
the Sultan’s desire that the Constitution should be carried out. 

After being informed of his dismissal from office, Midhat Pasha 
was at once sent on board the Imperial yacht Izzedin, which imme¬ 
diately started for the Mediterranean, in order to convey him out of 
Turkish territory. 

As to the cause of Midhat Pasha’s sudden downfall, it seems most 
probable that the Sultan became alarmed on account of two circum¬ 
stances 'which appeared to him calculated to endanger his position. 
First, the indiscretion of several of Midhat Pasha’s followers; secondly, 
the vast changes wffiich the development of the new Constitution 
involved—curtailing, as they did, his Majesty’s power and patronage, 
and placing official posts in the hands of the reformers, thereby 
bringing about dismissals in every direction, and the consequent 
discontent of many Palace favorites, naturally loth to give up their 
appointments. Quite unused to such demands on the part of a Min¬ 
ister, the Sultan became frightened, and imagined that the whole of 
these innovations w T ere simply the visible progress of a great plot to 
deprive him of his authority. Meanwhile Midhat Pasha’s enemies 
misrepresented and exaggerated all he said and did, urging the Sultan 
to adopt extreme measures immediately, in order to save his throne. 
In a weak moment his Majesty consented to interfere. 

About eleven o’clock on the morning of February 5th the news 
was spread that Midhat Pasha had been summoned to the presence of 
the Sultan by a hasty message. The next thing which betokened the 
astounding change impending in the Government was the sound of 
trumpets heard from a column of troops crossing the bridge of boats 
over the Golden Horn to take possession of the streets leading to the 
Offices of State. This armed body marched into the endente and 
proceeded to occupy and line the staircase leading to the apartment 
of the Grand Vizier. Very shortly an enormous crowd collected upon 
the spot, made up of Turkish officers, townsmen, European idlers, and 
others, among whom the rumor w r as current that a new Vizier had 
been appointed. The Audience Room, meantime, at the top of the 


EFFORTS FOR FEACE. 


433 


staircase, was filled with .pashas, beys, and effendis, all engaged in 
animated conversation, discussing the reasons for the extraordinary 
course which events had taken. Outside, the equally excited crowd 
was kept in order by the fixed bayonets of the troops. The band 
stationed in the great square presently struck up the Turkish National 
Anthem, at the first notes of which the people, cheered loudly. The 
officials inside immediately crowded to the windows, anxious to dis¬ 
cover, by his approach, who the new Prime Minister was to be. The 
emotion at this moment was remarkable. Ulema, generals, diploma¬ 
tists, secretaries, were all mingled with the common crowd, waiting to 
learn, by eyesight, the unknown personage that was to replace the 
great Reformer. At this moment, through a passage formed by the 
military and police, Ed hem Pasha made his appearance, thereby 
announcing himself as Grand Vizier. He was closely followed by the 
Sheik-ul-Islam, wearing the gold turban of his office, and by the Sul¬ 
tan’s Secretary having the ribbon of the Medjidie. Edhem Pasha was 
in full dress, with gold-braided coat and all his orders and insignia. 
Directly he had entered the building, the Imperial Hatt confirming 
his nomination was presented to him, and the Secretary read in a loud 
voice the terms of the Sultan’s decree. 

The appointment of Edhem Pasha to be Grand Vizier was followed 
by further changes in the Turkish Ministry. Kadri Bey was made 
a Pasha and appointed President of the Council; Djevdct Pasha, who 
was Minister of Justice, became Minister of the Interior, and his former 
post was filled by Hassim Pasha, hitherto Governor of Adrianople. 
Odian Eflendi, w 7 ho had gone to London on a mission concerning the 
bondholders, was recalled to Constantinople. Sadyk Pasha was recalled 

I from the embassy at Paris to be Governor of the Villayet of the 
Danube. 

Peace negotiations between Servia and Turkey concluded on the 
l 20th of February. At the beginning of the negotiations the attitude 
!| of the Porte may be briefly summed up as follows. The Sultan was 
j ready to come to an amicable settlement upon the basis of the status 
j quo ante helium , but demanded the right to send an agent to reside at 
! Belgrade. 

The Turkish Government looked upon this proceeding as a mark of 
consideration rather than distrust, especially as Roumania had lately 
attempted, unsuccessfully, to obtain a similar privilege with respect to 

28 




434 


EFFORTS FOR PEACE. 


herself. This, however, the Porte refused qu the ground that Prince 
Charles, being one of Turkey’s vassals, he was himself the Ottoman 
agent for all purposes, and that it would be, therefore, superfluous to 
appoint a second. As Russia maintained an official at Belgrade, the 
Sultan was anxious to be equally represented in that city. It was 
further pointed out bj the Porte that, if the object of sending a 
Turkish representative was merely that he should act as a spy, such 
a determination could be better carried out by secret agency. A 
recognized agent might, besides, prove useful in many ways to Servia, 
and the Sultan’s Government expressly declared that such an official 
would in no way interfere in matters of internal administration. 
Prince Milan was morally bound to make such a concession in recog¬ 
nition of the readiness of Turkey to forget the past. Touching the 
question of religious liberty in Servia, the Porte was simply desirous of 
recording its protest in favor of toleration, but would not insist if its 
views on the matter met with opposition. 

At a subsequent conference, Turkey decided to waive her demand 
for the maintenance of an agent at Belgrade, but required that the 
treaty should contain a definition of the status quo ante bellum , because 
she held that the position of Servia before hostilities broke out was 
simply one of overt insurrection. 

The agreement for a treaty of peace was signed on the 28th. It 
consisted of three points—namely, the maintenance of the status quo 
ante bellum , the granting of an amnesty and the evacuation of Servian 
territory twelve days after peace was signed. 

On the day when the final act, namely, that of signing the protocol, 
took place, the Servian delegates evinced , the greatest pleasure and 
the liveliest gratitude to the Turks. The scene took place at Savfet 
Pasha’s house; the documents were there when the delegates entered 
and after mutual congratulations pens were produced. Savfet Pasha, 
by right of precedence, first went to the table, and as he did so M. 
Marties cried out in Servian, “ Happiness to your Excellency! Con¬ 
gratulations on the good work you have achieved! May God bless 
you!” Without a word Savfet Pasha signed, and then, turning to M. 
Christies and his colleague, the Servian representatives, said, “ And I, 
too, thank you for your work, and felicitate you also.” MM. Christies 
and Marties then appended their signatures to the document, and 
peace was concluded. Peace—after twenty thousand Servians and 


EFFORTS FOR PEACE. 


435 


Russians had bit the dust—was thus restored to the valleys and hills 
of Servia. Never was sword drawn more uselessly or sheathed more 
readily—a lesson to all who heedlessly or recklessly cause strife and 
bloodshed. 









436 


THE NEW PARLIAMENT. 


CHAPTER XXVI. 

the Few Parliament. 

On Monday, the 19th of March, in the grand audience hall of the 
prettiest palace in Europe, an event of strange import for future 
historians came to pass, the first Parliament under the new Constitution 
of the Turkish Empire having been opened by the Sultan in person. 
The spectacle was one of much magnificence, nor can we more than 
very imperfectly indicate, within the compass of a chapter, the many 
points of notice in this novel and striking scene. Of the Dolma- 
Baghtche Palace, in which the ceremony was held, a few preliminary 
words may be said. We have called it the prettiest palace in Europe, 
not unmindful of the fact that an architectural purist or precisian 
would account it the most incongruous. It would be difficult, indeed, 
from mere technical description, for any person of artistic taste to 
believe that a building so defiant of all the proprieties of art should be 
so preeminently picturesque. This marble eccentricity on the beautiful 
shore of the Bosphorus is a mixture of Byzantine and classic Greek; 
but the pure white edifice, and its Corinthian columns, elbowing 
kiosques, pavilions, minarets, together with other forms of Oriental 
architecture out of number, give to the outside appearance presented 
by the Dolma-Baghtche a charming though an odd aspect. The 
name, being interpreted, signifies Bean Garden. 

The place has had already some curious memories, and there were 
some within who knew all about its history. It was amongst the first 
of Turkish extravagances—if, indeed, the building of what is really a 
very pretty, useful, and convenient residence for the monarch can be 
so termed at all. It is said that most of it was paid for with notes of 
of the very first paper money which the Turkish mint ever issued. 

It s a pretty place, remarked Abdul Medjid, as he gazed at the 
work of his hands, and enjoyed a chibouk full of the very choicest 
tobacco; “a very pretty place. And how much has it cost us?” quoth 
he, addressing Beschid Pasha, that famous Grand Vizier of those 
halcyon days. “Only the price of two reams of paper, O Commander 
of the Faithful,” was the Minister’s reply—at least, so it is said—and 


THE NEW PARLIAMENT. 


437 


it is easy to imagine how his quiet face must have lighted up with the 
gentlest of smiles. “Only two reams of paper!”—it was a noble 
palace to cost so little aud to be worth so much. Standing on the 
very prettiest part of the Bosphorus shore, what sights it had wit¬ 
nessed, what memories belonged to it! Since first it was built, the 
whole, history of the Ottoman Empire has been changed. The Am¬ 
bassadors who used to assemble in this place at the bidding of the 
Sultans have gone away; and the Sultans who were wont to give 
audiences here have been forcibly removed from the throne at yonder 
end of the hall; one has been gathered to his fathers, and the other is 
regarded as mad. Now in the same hall the latest Sultan was about 
to inaugurate an experiment which might prove of lasting benefit to 
his nation and a continual source of strength to his dynasty, or might 
some day result in a clean sweep of the entire fabric of State. The 
nomad race which some six hundred years ago entered Thrace and 
was routed in the Chersonesus, but which eventually swarmed victori¬ 
ously across the Hellespont and settled upon the fair lands of the 
Byzantine Empire, was about to lay aside its character of victor and 
borrow from the Christian a Constitutional Parliament. 

Early in the morning the palace was already full of dignitaries and 
officials of rank. Pashas in gold lace were wandering about its 
corridors by the dozen; there were generals enough to have com¬ 
manded a wffiole army; aides-de-camp flitted hithei and thither, and 
as for officials from the Porte they were present by the score. The 
scene was one of which a photograph ought to have been taken every 
moment. You entered Said Pasha’s room, and before you could light 
your cigarette you were in presence not only of the Minister of 
Marine and Mahmoud Pasha, the Sultan’s brother-in-law, but of the 
Minister of War and the Grand Vizier himself. Time was when for 
the Giaour thus to come upon the alter ego of the Caliph would have 
f been a most solemn business. History says nothing about what the 
Vizier of Scanderbeg was wont to do with the Christians, but we 
fancy it v 7 as not always well for the unbeliever to be near him as he 
rolled his cigarette. Then, if one strolled into the corridors, there 
were dignitaries on every side: Nedjib Pasha, just arrived from Alex- 
inatz, bronzed and baked in the war with Servia; Abdul Kerim, his 
chieftain, looking fit and quite ready for another struggle, if need be; 
Assim Pasha, the quiet, serious Minister of Justice, ablaze with gold 


438 


7 HE NEW EAR LI A NEXT. 



An Egyptian Pasha on his Divan, 





























































































































































THE NEW PARLIAMENT. 


439 

lace; and Djerdet Pasha, Secretary of the Interior, running hither 
and thither, as though being virtual ruler of inland Turkey were a 
slight burden. There were all whom the Sultan delights to honor in 
those passages and pathways—pashas, beys, and effendis—rubbing 
shoulders as they good-humoredly sought to prepare for the spectacle 
which was to follow. Close by was the great ante-room of the Palace. 
Through this must all pass who would attend the ceremony. Ulema, 
some of them bearing the riband of the Medjidie, and all of them 
wearing the green embroidered cloak of their order, the golden turban, 
and the fez, passed by frequently. Generals of division were making 
additions to the assemblage every minute; pashas were congregating 
around the central tire-place; beys were grouping themselves near the 
door. There could not have been more activity and excitement had 
Mohammed himself been coming; more brilliant dresses could not 
have been worn had the Prophet commanded a State levee. 

Inside the hall stand some nine hundred personages, ranged in 
careful order, almost all brilliant with golden lace and stars of silver 
or precious stones. They form three sides of a square, their heads are 
bent as they listen with apparent eagerness to hear what a little 
gentleman in an embroidered coat is reading from a document which 
bears a great seal of gold. While they thus attend, at the fourth side 
of the square, in front of a golden couch or spacious throne, stands a 
young man, clad very simply in fez and military overcoat, leaning on 
his sword. As your eyes run ground the room you observe that the 
costumes are as varied as are the faces; that ancient men, clad in long 
robes of green and gold, and their heads covered with golden turbans, 
stand close by others in European costume, wearing only the fez; that 
in one corner are what must without doubt be members of the Diplo¬ 
matic Corps; that in front of the pale gentleman, who remains alone, 
are some three hundred grave and reverend personages, grouped in 
two sections; and that all around are soldiers, officers of State, and 
personages of distinction. The audience is composed of the grandees 
of the Turkish Empire; he who stands in front of the golden couch is 
the Caliph of all the Ottomans,‘the two groups of listeners are 
respectively the newlv-created Senate and Corps L6gislatif of Turkey, 
and the document which you are hearing is the Imperial speech. A 
few minutes, and those three hundred gentlemen will constitute the 
governing power of the Empire, which Mohammed, son of Dajazet, 
founded. 




the new parliament. 


440 

The Master of the ceremonies proceeded to inform the Sultan that 
all was ready; and immediately his Imperial Majesty entered the 
hall, wearing over his military coat the riband of the Osmanlie and 
Star of the Medjidie, and carrying his State sword. After a general 
salute, the Sultan handed the Speech to the Grand Vizier, who kissed 
the paper and transferred it to the Sultan’s secretary, Said Pasha. 
This official then made a profound salute, and amid the deepest silence, 
read the Speech aloud. 

The speech dealt with the historical efforts of Turkey, declared most 
of her embarrasments to have been due to intrigues which fomented 
disturbance in her interior, and attributed the financial difficulties 
under which she labored to these and to the necessity involved for 
keeping up large armies.' The most important part of the document 
was that which referred to the condition of Turkey’s exchequer, 
Abdul Aziz’s Government being spoken of’as a regime which did not 
attach due importance to financial equilibrium; while the conduct of 
the rulers who had thus failed was further condemned in that, instead 
of seeking by safeguarding the engagements of the Treasury to meet 
their requirements, they had arbitrarily reduced the interest of the 
debts as the best way of escaping from their difficulties. Then the 
Sultan talked of peace, announced its conclusion with Servia, and 
expressed hopes of an arrangement with Montenegro; enumerated the 
laws which he believed necessary for the good of the country; announced 
the foundation of a school in which administrative duties could be 
taught; thanked the army for what.it had done in days gone by, and 
referred to the failure of*the Conference, adding that Turkey, by 
‘‘giving proof of moderation and sincerity, had bound together more 
strongly than ever the ties of sympathy which united her to the great 
European family.” With this quiet announcement the speech closed. 
Then came salutes, to which the Sultan replied very graciously, bowing 
to the Assembly, and so departed, his leaving being the signal for 
a shout on the part of the heralds, followed immediately afterwards by 
heavy salvoes of artillery upon the Bosphorus. The first Turkish 
Parliament was opened, and amid many congratulations the Assembly 
broke up and went aw«y. 


HOSTILITIES BEGUN. 


441 


CHAPTER XXVII. 

Hostilities begun. 

On the 24th of April, 1877, the Emperor of Russia promulgated his 
% declaration of war, as follows: 

“ Our faithful and beloved subjects know the strong interest which 
we have constantly felt in the destinies of the oppressed Christian 
population of Turkey. Our desire to ameliorate and assure their lot 
has been shared by the whole Russian nation, which now shows itself 
ready to bear fresh sacrifices to alleviate the position of the Christians 
in the Balkan peninsula. The blood and the property of our faithful 
subjects have always been dear to us, and our whole reign attests 
our constant solicitude to preserve to Russia the benefits of peace. 
This solicitude never failed to actuate us during the deplorable events 
which occurred in Herzegovina, Bosnia, and Bulgaria. Our objects 
before all, was to effect an amelioration in the position of the Chris¬ 
tians in the East by means of pacific negotiations, and in concert with 
the Great European Powers, our allies and friends. For two years 
we have made incessant efforts to induce the Porte to effect such 
reforms as would protect the Christians of Bosnia, Herzegovina, and 
Bulgaria from the arbitrary measures of the local authorities. The 
accomplishment of these reforms was absolutely stipulated by anterior 
engagements contracted by the Porte towards the whole of Europe. 
Our efforts supported by the diplomatic representations made in 
common by the other Governments have not, however, attained their 
object. The Porte remained unshaken in its formal refusal of any 
effective guarantee for the security of its Christian subjects, and 
rejected the conclusions of the Constantinople Conference. Wishing 
to essay every possible means of conciliation in order to persuade 
the Porte, we proposed to the other Cabinets to draw up a special 
Protocol comprising the most essential conditions of the Constantinople 
Conference, and to invite the Turkish Government to adhere to this 
international act, which states the extreme limits of our peaceful 
demands. But our expectation was not fulfilled. The Porte did not 
defer to this unanimous wish of Christian Europe, and did not 




442 


HOSTILITIES BEGUN,\ 



Mehemet Au, Commander-in-Chief 


OF 


the Turkish Army in Bulgaria. 







HOSTILITIES BEGUN . 


443 


adhere to the conclusions of the Protocol. Having exhausted our 
pacific efforts, we are compelled, by the haughty obstinacy of the 
Porte, to proceed to more decisive acts. A feeling of equity, and of 
our own dignity, enjoins it. By her refusal Turkey places us under 
the necessity oi having recourse to arms. Profoundly convinced of 
the justice of our case, and humbly committing ourselves to the grace 
and help of the Most High, we make known to our faithful subjects, 
that the moment foreseen when we pronounced words to which all 
Russia responded with such complete unanimity, has now arrived. We 
expressed the intention to act independently when we deem it necessary, 
and when Russia’s honor should demand it. In now invoking the 
blessing of God upon our valiant armies, we give them the order to 
cross the Turkish frontier.” 

Two days later the Sultan issued an address to the Ottoman troops, 
which may be regarded as his declaration of war, or his reply to that 
of the Czar. After laying the responsibility for the present unjust 
and unnecessary war upon the Russian Government, and expressing 
his humble reliance upon the favor of God, the Sultan’s address con¬ 
tinues thus: 

“ Our enemy, having for his objects the annihilation of our national 
rights, the overthrow of our independence and the ruin of our country, 
has now made it plain to the world that nothing could ever have 
satisfied his demands upon us short of the surrender of these. Such is 
the true reason why, without any moral justification or lawful cause, 
he has put his forces in motion to attack us. We cherish, however, 
the firm conviction that He who is the Judge above all judges, and 
the protector of right and justice, will vouchsafe to our arms victory 
and salvation.” His Imperial Majesty proceeded to declare his proud 
reliance in the courage of his soldiers and sailors, as well as in their 
devotion to duty, and concluded by saying, “ Let my valiant troops 
and crews be assured that the heart of their Padishah is with them in 
all dangers and glories. If need shall arise, he will himself take in 
hand the holy banner of the Caliphate and the Sultanate, and hasten 
to place himself in their ranks. He expects of them not less than 
what he is willing to do in person, being ready to lay down his life in 
their midst for the maintenance of Ottoman rights, for the honor of 
the Ottoman name, and for the independence of the common country.” 

On the same day that war was declared against Turkey, fifty thou- 


444 


HOSTILITIES BEGUN. 


sand Russians crossed the Russian Rubicon, the Pruth; and th» 
Russo-Turkish war of 1877 was begun. The army was so distributed 
that it might use all the roads leading from Russian Bessarabia to the 
main passages of the Pruth, from which alone roads fit for the march 
of armies lead into the heart of Roumania, and that it might advance 
directly upon the Danube east of the Pruth, and thence, by the shortest 
possible route, seize the railway where it runs along the bank of the 
Danube from near Galatz to Ibraila. Accordingly, before the advance 
across the frontier, the troops cantoned in the Bessarabian villages 
were gradually drawn together into three bodies, the right wing being 
advanced to the frontier nearly opposite Jassy, the centre to the 
frontier opposite Leowa, and the left to the frontier opposite Bolgrad. 

The right wing was stationed in a hilly, broken country, and 
directly supplied by the railway running through Kischeneff into the 
interior and to Odessa. The Pruth, at this time of the year a wide, 
swollen stream, with marshes on the Roumanian bank, alone separated 
it from Roumania. Skiijany, where the extreme right of the Russian 
army crossed by the bridge that carries the road, is distant about 
twelve miles from Ungeni, where the railway bridge spans the river. 
By these two bridges the right wing crossed the frontier and advanced 
upon Jassay, the old capital of Moldavia, a straggling towmof some 
seventy thousand inhabitants, sending on a detachment at once by rail 
to the junction at Paschkany. 

The centre column of the Russian army crossing the frontier at 
Beschtamak, on the road leading from the Russian town of Bender, 
advanced on Leowa, about fUteen miles, and there crossed the Pruth. 
For, since the treaty of 1857, the Russian frontier has been thrust 
back from the Pruth, the divergence commencing at a point about 
thirty miles south of the railway bridge at Ungeni. 

The third column, or left wing, crossed the frontier at the point 
opposite Bolgrad, where the boundary line bends due east, and at 
other points still more to the eastward. Several roads lead from the 
frontier to the lower Danube in this part of Roumania, and detach¬ 
ments advanced direct upon Kilia, which is only twenty-five miles 
from the Russian frontier, on Ismailia, about thirty-five miles, and on 
Reni about forty miles. From Reni troops were at once despatched 
to Galatz and to Ibraila, and the railway bridge over the Sereth was 
seized and defended by artillery. 


HOSTILITIES BEGUN. 


445 



Departure of Midhat Pasha for Brindisi, in Exile. 

The position sifter the advance, may be thus summed up. The 
Russian left occupied all the points of passage on the Danube at and 
below Ibraila, and while it held these and secured the railway between 
Galatz and Ibraila, the Russian centre and right wheeled round south¬ 
ward, this left wing being as it were their pivot. It was of the utmost 
strategical importance to Russia to hold securely these passages of the 
Danube from the Dobrudscha, because any passage of the river by the 
Turks here would have enabled them to operate upon the flank of the 
Russian columns descending from Jassay and Leowa; and this fact, 
added to the necessity of securing the railway, fully accounts for the 
immediate occupation of the points from Ibraila eastward. 

While the Russian forces were successively occupying the Roumanian 
towns, and preparing to cross the Danube, Hobart Pasha, the Admiral 
in command of the Turkish fleet, entered the Danube on board a little 
vessel named the Rethymo, for the purpose of placing ironclads in such 
a position that they might be of assistance in opposing the passage of 
the river by the Russians, While his vessel was lying near Rustchuk 


































446 


HOSTILITIES BEGUN. 


the Muscovite forces appeared at Galata and Ibraila, threw up great 
batteries and armed them with guns, and were engaged in putting 
down torpedoes to prevent the exit of the English chieftain. There 
were many reasons to be anxious, for had Hobart Pasha’s vessel been 
an ironclad and well armed it might have been useful, even if left at 
Silistria; whereas, being only a wooden vessel, armed with one forty- 
pounder Armstrong gun, his stay in the river would have been almost 
certain capture. “ What will he do?” was the question asked over 
and over again. Would he run the blockade, or would he simply 
confess the batteries and the torpedoes to be too much for him, and, 
quitting his ship, come down to Varna by rail? Those who knew him 
best declared he would try to escape—ship, men, Pasha, and all. Nor 
was this view altogether without warrant; for, though the passage was 
dangerous and the risk great, it was very fair to suppose that a man 
of Hobart’s calibre would make an attempt to be free, and would, if 
necessary, die in that attempt. How right the supposition was let us 
tell. The Danube is not a wide, and yet it is not a narrow stream. 
There are places where one might almost easily escape the shots from 
a very good piece of artillery fired from the banks; there are other 
places, again, which to pass where guns are pointed at you is almost 
certain destruction. Such a place is the ground between (Jalatz and 
Braila. Yet against all this was the great fact that the stream was 
swift, that the speed of the vessel v r as great, and that, lastly, the boat 
was commanded by a man who had never been caught in a trap 
before. 

Night approaching, he made everything ready for running into the 
Black Sea in defiance of all Russian hostile intentions, getting clear 
fires under the boilers of his craft, in order to avoid smoke from 
her funnel, and making other arrangements. The Rethymo, be it 
said, is a very fast boat, capable of steaming at the rate of fifteen knots 
an hour. 

When Hobart Pasha started on his daring exploit, the Danube 
current was running swiftly, being estimated at fully five knots an 
hour. Upon nearing Galatz he found that heavily-armed Russian 
batteries commanded the river, looking capable of sinking anything 
afloat, besides the torpedoes reported to be hidden beneath the waters. 

Immediately it was dark, the word was passed, “ Lights out,” and 
the steamer sped rapidly along. The batteries were soon reached, and 




HOSTILITIES BEGUN, 


447 


the Russian lanterns, the heavy guns, and soldiers in great numbers 
were clearly visible to those who manned the saucy Rethymo, when 
suddenly a rocket was sent up from the Roumanian shore to apprize 
the Muscovite gunners of Hobart Pasha’s coming. Other rockets 
followed in quick succession, then the hoarse word of command was 
distinctly heard, bugles sounded, and the drums beat merrily, sum¬ 
moning the Russians to their posts. 

Hobart Pasha expected every moment to be blown out of the water 
by the fire of the heavy guns he was treating so cavalierly; but being 
determined to make efforts in some degree proportionate to the great 
risk he was facing, he ran his vessel close in shore, not forty metres 
from the batteries themselves—indeed so near that the Russian gun¬ 
ners were unable to depress their pieces sufficiently to get a good aim. 
His boat went quickly by at twenty knots an hour, and soon all 
danger was over. 

When satisfied he had nothing to fear from his enemies, Hobart 
Pasha ordered the crew of the Rethymo to throw one shell into the 
centre of the Russian camp, an order which was quickly obeyed—the 
missile bursting in the midst of the Muscovite tents. 

Its effects were of course unknown, but it was the first cannon shot 
fired upon the Danube in the Russo-Turkish war. Hobart Pasha 
subsequently proceeded to Constantinople, where he received a hearty 
welcome and enthusiastic congratulations. 

On the 3d of May a skirmish took place at Braila. Two Turkish 
gunboats from Matchin came down opposite the town about eleven. 
The Russians had as yet no batteries higher up the river than Bar- 
bosch, and only two field-guns at the barracks close to the town, 
wdiich they pulled out, and at first fired blank cartridge to stop the 
Turks. The gunboats replied in earnest. Then the Russian guns 
were put on the house of the Russian Vice-Consul in the town, where 
the Russian flag was flying. One woman was killed and two boys 
wounded. A Russian shell struck the bridge of one of the gunboats, 
and at noon they retired up the river. In the afternoon the gunboats 
returned, and steamed up and down opposite Braila, but without an 
interchange of fire. About four in the afternoon there was a brisk 
exchange of rifle fire across the Danube between the Cossacks on the 
Braila shore and a party of Turks opposite. The apparent aim was 
to discover the position and strength of the batteries. 


448 


HOSTILITIES BEGUN. 


Early on the morning of the 9th the Kussian batteries close to 
Braila opened a heavy fire on a body of Turkish infantry at Getschet, 
which had harassed them by their fire. Some of the shots took effect 
at fifteen hundred yards range, killing two Roumanians and one 
woman who had been working in the fields just below Braila. 

Having shelled the Turks out of their position, consisting of field 
entrenchments with parapet, a Russian infantry detachment crossed at 
six o’clock in open boats, but met with no resistance. They destroyed 
the earthworks, burnt the huts and pickets, and returned to Braila 
-without sustaining any loss. 

The Russian batteries opposite Getschet, w r hich is situated at the 
junction of the Old and New Danube beds, had succeeded hitherto in 
preventing the Turkish monitors from issuing from the Old Danube. 
As soon as those batteries were complete, the monitors took refuge at 
Getschet from their fire, and from that point shelled Braila. They 
made two or three efforts to escape from their shelter into the main 
stream, but each time they were met by so heavy a concentrated fire 
that they were obliged to return to their moorings. 

The next day a heavy engagement, lasting five hours, took place 
between a Roumanian battery near Oltenitza, and a Turkish battery 
placed in position in front of the small Turkish town of Turtukaia, 
supported by two monitors. Turtukaia -was set on fire by shells, and 
twice displayed the white flag. One monitor was also seriously dam¬ 
aged. In consequence of the conflagration at Turtukaia, the Turks 
towards evening ceased the cannonade, and during the night withdrew 
the battery. 

On the afternoon following, the Turkish turret-ship, the same whose 
passage up the stream had recently terrified Galatz, steamed out from 
Matchin, followed by tw T o gunboats, and at half-past three was sta¬ 
tionary under cover of the -wooded end of the island, with its three 
masts visible above the trees. The Russian gunners from the batteries 
close to Braila, below the Roumanian barracks, opened fire from their 
light guns, the range being about four kilometres, but without effect. 
The general officer present gave directions for two eight-inch guns of 
position, mounted in the battery, to come into action. The first shot 
had no effect. The second shot, fired at a high elevation with a low 
charge, dropped on the deck of the turret-ship, and must have crushed 
down into the powder magazine. Immediately a tremendous flash 





HOSTILITIES BEGUN,\ 


449 



The New Iron-Clad Monitor Novgorod, on the Danube. 


and glare shot up from the interior of the doomed craft, followed by a 
heavy white smoke which hung like a pall. Through this white cloud 
there shot up to a great height a spurt of black fragments of all 
shapes and sizes. When the smoke drifted away all that was visible 
of the turret-ship was her stern, with the mizzenmast standing, whence 
still fluttered the Turkish flag. The ship had gone down by the head 
in shallow water. The fore and main masts were blown out at once. 

| Two Russian steam-launches put off from Braila, boarded the wreck, 
gained the flag, gathered some of the debris, and picked up two men, 
the fireman and the engineer, both severely injured. The turret-ship 
had a crew of two hundred men, under the command of Kezim Bey. 
Fragments of the wreck were picked up down the stream at Galatz. 
The Russian enthusiasm in the battery was intense, and the officers 
embraced each other. 

A second Turkish gunboat was destroyed by the Russians on the 
morning of the 28th, near the mouth of the Matchin Canal. On the 
night before, a detachment of forty Russian soldiers, commanded by 

29 
































450 


HOSTILITIES BEGUN. 


Lieutenant Dubascheff, accompanied by the commander of the Rou¬ 
manian flotilla, Major Murgescu, left the northern shore of the 
Danube in three or four small boats, and proceeded towards the point 
Petra Fetei, below Matchin and opposite Braila, at which point there 
was stationed a large Turkish monitor The night was very dark, 
and they managed to surround the monitor before being discovered by 
the Turkish look-outs. When finally observed by the sentries on 
board they were challenged, and “Who goes there?” rang out on the 
night air. Major Murgescu replied in Turkish, “Friends.” The 
Turks, evidently not satisfied, commenced firing in the direction of 
Matchin, not knowing where these boats came from. The shots flew 
wide of their mark, and did no damage to the daring men in the 
boats. During the firing several of the Russian soldiers, under the 
direction of Lieutenant Dubascheff, plunged into the water, swam 
silently to the hull of the iron-clad vessel, and placed the deadly 
torpedo in close contact with the bottom of the monitor. After the 
destructive machine had been securely fastened and the wires of an 
electric battery accurately adjusted, the men retired to the neigh¬ 
boring shore of the river, and at half-past three in the morning the 
monitor was blown into the air, with all the officers and crew. The 
explosion was terrific, and, as nothing is said of the crew being saved, 
it is supposed that all on board perished with the vessel. 

On the morning of Friday, June 22d, the Russians at last began 
to cross the Danube. Contrary to expectations the great move com¬ 
menced at Galatz. Everybody supposed that it would be somewhere 
between Giurgevo and Turna Magurelle. That the Turks were of the 
same opinion is shown by the fact that they had concentrated nearly 
their whole army between Rustchuk and Nicopolis, their line diminish¬ 
ing in strength towards Silistria, while the Dobrudscha was almost 
deprived of troo/s. 

The manner of crossing was equally unexpected and unforeseen both 
by the Turks and the spectators. 

On the north side of the river during four days the Russians were 
industriously constructing a bridge near Braila, just below the con- j 
fluence of the old and new channels of the Danube. This work was 
done within sight of the Turkish forces at Matchin and on the heights 
beyond; yet the Russians were allowed to construct the bridge in 
peace and quiet. It was finished on the night of the 21st except a 
narrow space left open for the passage of boats. 


HOSTILITIES BEGUN. 


451 


The Danube at the turn of the crossing was still very high. A 
great part of the valley was under water, which, however, was rapidly 
subsiding. The bridge was constructed from both sides of the river at 
once, for the Turks allowed the Russians to cross over and begin the 
bridge on the Turkish shore at the same time as it was begun on the 
Roumanian. A great part was constructed on trestles, and it was 
only in the real channel, where the water was swift and deep, consisting 
of a space of perhaps a thousand yards wide, that pontoons were used. 

The pontoons were floated to their places, anchored to trestle work 
constructed on both sides at the same time. The trestle work was 
continued along the old channel towards Matchin on the road to the 
latter place. 

A glance at the map will show two channels of the Danube, running 
nearly parallel to each other, from Hirsova, where they first separate, 
to Braila, where they unite, the old channel making a sudden turn to 
the left just below Matchin, forming a right angle. It is along the 
north or right bank of this stream that the road runs from Matchin to 
Braila and along this road, still submerged, the Russians were ex¬ 
pected to advance by means of the trestle work. The advance was 
not made, however, by this bridge, and the first use to which it was 
put was to delude the Turks, who had been watching its construction. 

In addition to the bridge, rafts and boats had been prepared for a 
passage from Galatz, so as to turn Matchin, and it was by this latter 
means that the crossing was actually effected. The Turks had pre¬ 
pared an ambush for the Russians near the end of the bridge, which 
the latter by their change of plan avoided. General Zimmermann, 
instead of advancing along the inundated road from Braila to Matchin 
determined to cross from Galatz, and gain possession of the heights 
above that fortress which command it. The secret of the crossing was 
well kept, and the operation was conducted with unexampled daring. 
The men and horses crossed in the flat boats, while the cannon were 
brought across on the barges. After they had crossed, two detachments 
carried after them, through the inundated marshes on the river side, 
a number of boats and rafts. Two thousand five hundred men of the 
Seventh Regiment of Infantry, with their cannon, crossed during the 
day, and joined their companions, under the command of Brigadier- 
General Gukoff. The troops, which had come from Galatz, took their 
positions on the first breastworks on the chain of mountains separated 






452 


HOSTILITIES BEGUN. 


The Advance Guard—Russian Army. 















HOSTILITIES BEGUN. 


453 


by a deep valley from the other heights which command Matchin. 
They established themselves in the villages of Garbina and Vaharei, 
to the southeast of Galatz. At three o’clock in the morning the 
first cannon shot was fired on the Turkish batteries. At six o’clock a 
violent cannonade commenced. The Russians at first advanced slowly 
but, by-and-by, reinforcements arrived from Reni and Galatz, and 
an impulse was given to the Russian army. At this time the force 
consisted of eight thousand men. At nine o’clock the cannonade 
was still proceeding furiously; by noon the affair was ended. 

The Turks seem to have been fully informed of the Russian 
movements in advance, and they were on the alert and prepared for 
the attack. They fought with great bravery and resolution. Several 
of the Russian soldiers were wounded by bayonets, showing that there 
was close, hot work. It was rendered all the more difficult for the 
Russians by the fact that the boats only sufficed to transport one 
thousand eight hundred men at a time, and the swampy nature of the 
ground on which they were landed, covered as it was with tall reeds 
growing in the water knee-deep, made it impossible to bring the four 
pieces of artillery they had brought over into action until they were no 
longer needed. The Turkish cavalry behaved splendidly, and charged 
boldly into the Russian infantry sabre in hand. 

The Russian attack was made on both sides along the narrow range 
of hills which extend past Vakareni and Garbina towards Galatz. The 
Russian loss was between one hundred and fifty and two hundred 
killed and wounded, of whom three officers were killed and two 
wounded. 

The Turks retreated towards Medidje, on the line of the Kustenje 
Railway, so that the whole north end of the Dobrudscha was aban¬ 
doned by them. 

On the afternoon of June 25th, the Russian artillery commenced the 
bombardment of Nicopolis, and the Turkish batteries flanking the 
fortress on either side, and covering the mouth of the Aluta river. 
It must be understood that Turna Maguerelle is directly opposite 
Nicopolis, and stands somewhat from the main stream of the Danube 
at a distance of about two kilometres, the intervening space being 
occupied by the inundation. This inundation was parted off from the 
Danube by a spit of land on which stand the buildings of the harbor. 

The Russians had about thirty heavy guns employed in the bom- 


454 


HOSTILITIES BEGUN. 


bardment, which were in position both to the right and left of Turn* 
Maguerelle. The range across the inundation of the river was about 
six kilometres. They had besides several batteries, long twelve-pounders, 
which were used without being posted in the emplacements, and used 
occasionally the field artillery of the Thirty-first Division, which was 
holding Turna Maguerelle. 

The bombardment cannot be called crushing. In all hitherto the 
Russians fired about five hundred shells. They avoided the town of 
Nicopolis and concentrated their fire on the Turkish batteries. These 
replied, but not with vigor. Now one battery fired a few shots, now 
another, and the Turks shifted their guns from one battery to auother, 
and fired a few rounds from each, to convey the impression that their 
armament was larger than it really was. 

A second crossing of the Danube was effected on the morning of 
June 27th, at Simnitza. This place is almost opposite the long 
straggling Turkish town of Sistova, but above it, and in the hollows 
of a precipice overhanging the Danube. Below Sistova for a distance 
of two mile3 the Turkish bank is steep, in places quite precipitous, 
with here and there little hollows, and above the river side are steep 
wooded slopes covered with gardens and vineyards, leading to the 
bare,ridge forming the sky-line. Two miles below Sistova is a narrow, 
marked depression in the Turkish bank, leading up from a little cove 
formed by the affluents of a small stream above, and to the right of 
this cove was a small camp of Turkish soldiers, fixed there doubtless 
in consciousness of the weakness of the point, and above the camp on 
the sky-line was a battery of heavy guns. Between the cove and 
Sistova several cannon were disposed under cover of the trees, and 
immediately on the proper right of the town was a small open 
earthwork armed with a few field guns. Sistova is an open town. 
Probably in and about it there was not more than a brigade of Turkish 
troops; but then it is not distant more than a long day’s march from 
either Rustchuk or Nicopolis. So much for the Turkish side. 

About Simnitza the Roumanian bank is high; but between it and 
the Danube proper, which flows close to the Turkish bank, was a broad 
tract partly of green meadow, partly of sand, partly of tenacious mud, 
the whole just emerging from inundation. This flat is cut off from 
Simnitza by a narrow arm of the Danube, so that it is really an 
island. A raised road and bridge leading from the town across the 




HOSTILITIES BEGUM. 


45j 



Abdul Kerim Pasha, Commander-in-Chief of the Turkish Army. 


flats to the landing-place on the Danube had been wrecked by the 
floods. It was necessary, therefore, for the Russians to gain access to 
the flats by a short pontoon bridge. These flats were still in many 
places under water, scored by intersecting streams, and studded with 
impracticable swamps, so that the road through them was difficult and 
tortuous. They are quite bare, except that at the lower end, exactly 
opposite the cove on the Turkish side of which we have spoken, there 
is a wood of willows and alders of considerable extent, and capable of 





450 


HOSTILITIES BEGUN, 


affording a good deal of cover. The Danube all along the Sistova 
position is about twelve hundred paces wide, and flows very rapidly. 
There is a low island opposite Sistova, but it has no interest in the 
present narrative. The ground on the Roumanian side shows a 
sloping face to the higher Turkish bank, so that it is impossible to 
bring troops into Simnitza unobserved. Hence probably the Turkish 
state of preparation, such as it was. 

The attempt was, as far as possible, to be of the nature of a surprise, 
and it was necessary therefore to postpone the dispositions till after 
nightfall. The Division Dragimiroff had the post of honor, and was 
expected to make a footing on the Turkish side by early morning. 
The Division Mirsky in support was to make a night march from 
Lissa, and be in position at Simnitza at 7 A.M., to follow its sister 
division across in the event of the latter’s success. In the event of 
failure it was to take up the fighting and force a passage at all 
sacrifices; for the Archduke Nicholas had announced that he would 
take no denial. The river had to be crossed at Simnitza cost what it 
might. Other divisions stood within call if need were. The w 7 aters 
might be reddened, but they must be crossed. 

With the darkness General Dragimiroff began his dispositions. 
The first work was to plant in made emplacements a row of field-guns 
all along the edge of the flats to sweep with fire the opposite banks. 
This was while his infantry was being marched over the flats down 
into the cover of the willow wood. The darkness and the obstructions 
were both so great that all was not ready till the first glimmer of gray 
dawn. There was no bridge, but a number of river boats, capable of 
holding from fifteen to forty men each. These were dragged on car¬ 
riages through the mud, and launched in the darkness from under the 
spreading boughs of the willow trees. The troops embarked, and 
pushed across as the craft arrived. Dragimiroff stood on the slimy 
margin to bid his gallant fellows Gcd speed. He would fain have 
shown the way, for although a scientific soldier, it v r as his duty to 
remain till later. The grateful task devolved on Major-General Yol- 
chine, whose brigade consisted of the regiments of Yalinsk and Minsk, 
the Fifty-third and Fifty-fourth of the line. The boats put cff singly, 
rowing across for the little cove, and later the little steam-tug was 
brought into requisition. 

For once the Turks had not spent the night watches in heavy sleep; 




HOSTILITIES BEGUN. 


457 


Their few cannon at once opened fire on the boats, on the hidden 
i masses among the willows, and. on the columns marching across the 
! flat. Nor was this all. From the slopes above the cove there came 
at the boats a smart infantry fire. The Turkish riflemen were holding 
the landing-place. Yolchine had not gained experience and credit in 
Caucasian warfare for nothing. His boat was leading. The Turkish 
riflemen were in position about fifty yards from the shore. He landed 
his handful, and bade them lie down in the mud. One or two were 
down previously with Turkish bullets. He opened a skirmishing fire 
to cover the landing boats that followed. One by one these landed 
their freights, who followed the example of the first boat-load. 

At length enough had accumulated. Young Skobeloff was there, a 
host in himself. Yolchine bade his men fix bayonets, stand up, and 
follow their officers. There was a rush and a cheer that rang louder 
in the gray dawn than the Turkish volley that answered it. That 
volley was not fired in vain, but the Turks did not wait for cold steel. 
Yolchine’s skirmishers followed them doggedly some distance up the 
slope, but for the time could not press on far from the base. Busily 
yet slowly the craft moved to and fro from shore to shore. The Rus¬ 
sian guns had at once opened when the Turkish fire showed that there 
was no surprise, but however heavy a fire may be, it will not all at 
once crush another fire. The Turkish shells kept falling in the water ? 
i whistling through the willows, and bursting among the columns on 
the flat. One shell from a mountain gun fell into a boat containing 
two guns, their gunners, and the commandant of the battery. The 
boat w r as swamped at once and all on board perished. This was the 
only serious casualty, but numerous Russian soldiers were falling on 
| both sides of the river. Nevertheless the work went steadily on, and 
soon after seven the whole brigade of Yolchine had reached the other 
side, a Russian battery was there, and Dragimiroff himself had crossed. 

Cast your eye down there to your left ffont athwart the flats, and 
note the masses of troops waiting there or marching on towards the 
cover of the willows. See the long row of guns in action there by the 
water’s edge, covered by the battalions of infantry, in this case a 
mischievous conventionality, owing to the exposure, for the Turkish 
cannon will not just yet be wholly silenced. Note how deftly the 
Russian shells pitch into that earthwork on the verge of Sistova. But 
the gallant gunners stubbornly fight their guns under the rain of fire 





458 


HOSTILITIES BEGUN. 


and when one gun is quiet another gives tongue. And what a mark! 
Half an army corps out there on the flat, with no speck of cover save 
that patch of willows down there. Hark to the crackle of musketry 
fire on the wooded slopes rising out from the cove! No wonder Yol- 
chine’s skirmishers are moving, for that Turkish battery on the sky-line 
is dropping shells with fell swiftness among the willow trees. Sistova 
seems stark empty. It might be a city of the dead. But the Turkish 
gunners cling to their posts and their guns with wonderful staunchness 
amid clouds of dust thrown up by the shells which burst around them. 
Nor are the single pieces among the trees wholly quiet. Shells are 
dropping among the troops on the flat, and the ambulance men are 
hurrying about with brancards, or plodding towards the military 
surgery, with heavy blood-sodden burdens. You may watch the 
shells drop into the water, starring its surface as they fall, as if it had 
been glass. What a wonder that one and all should miss those clumsy, 
heavy-laden craft which stud the water so thickly! A shell in one of 
these boats would produce fearful results among the closely-packed 
freight. Not less fell havoc would it work among these soldiers 
further on, massed there under the shelter of the clay-bank. 

Prince Mirski has received his reports and final instructions. He 
gives word to his division to move down on to the flats, to be in 
readiness to cross. Previously, their march finished, they had been 
resting on the grassy uplands behind Simnitza. Presently the cry is 
raised that a Turkish monitor is coming down the Danube. Sure 
enough, near the head of the island is visible what seems to be a large 
vessel with two funnels moving slowly down the stream. Now the 
ferry-boats may look out. Now is the opportunity for some dashing 
torpedo practice. But the Russian officers evince no alarm—rather, 
indeed, satisfaction. The fact is, that seeming monitor is really two 
large lighters lashed together, which the Russians are drifting down 
to assist in transporting the troops. No person is visible on board, 
yet some one must be steering, and the course held is a bold one. 
Slowly the lighters forge ahead past the very mouths of the Turkish 
cannon in the Sistova Battery, and are barely noticed by a couple of 
shells. They bring to at the Roumanian shore higher up than the 
crossing-place, and wait there for their freight. Prince Mirski takes 
his stand at the pontoon bridge to watch his division file past, ana 
greet the regiment as they pass him. But in front of the Ninth 




On the Danube—a Flight from Nicopolis, 


459 


HOSTILITIES BEGIN. 































































































































460 


HOSTILITIES BEGUN. 


Division comes a regiment of the brigade of riflemen formed specially 
for this war, and attached to the army corps. This brigade is armed 
with Berdan rifles, and comprises the finest marksmen of the whole 
army. Prince Mirski’s division is made up of four historic regiments 
which suffered most heavily in Sebastopol during the great siege. They 
are the regiments of Yeletik, of Sefsk, of Orloff, and of Brianski, the 
Thirty-third, Thirty-fourth, Thirty-fifth, and Thirty-sixth, of the Rus¬ 
sian line. Very gallantly they march down the steep slope and across 
the bridge on to the swampy flats. Soon there greets them the scarcely 
enlivening spectacle, the Surgery of the Second Line where the more 
serious cases were being dealt with before forwarding them to the house 
hospitals in Simnitza. About twenty shattered creatures are lying 
there on blood-stained stretchers waiting their turn at the hands of 
the doctors. More than one requires no further treatment than to be 
consigned to a soldier’s grave. 

On the slopes above the cove where the landing had been made a 
hotly-contested battle raged. The Turks had rallied and concentrated 
on the upper slopes in front of their battery on the sky-line, and, 
gathering heart had come down on the pickets of the brigade Yotchine, 
whose line had perhaps been scarcely sufficiently fed by reinforcements, 
as they landed at first. The Turks had made some headway and 
probably encouraged themselves with the hope of driving their north¬ 
ern foe into the Danube; but only for a moment, men fell fast in 
Yolchine’s skirmishing line. It pressed on upwards irresistibly. The 
Turks fell back in trickling little streams, and the battery ceased to 
fire, and no doubt was removed for fear of capture. For soon after 
noon the Russian infantry had crowned the heights and settled them¬ 
selves there, looking down into the interior of Bulgaria, with the 
Danube conquered in their rear. The Turkish infantry detachment 
tried to work around and down upon Sistova, but was thwarted by an 
intercepting skirmishing force, whicl; got into position of a cheval of the 
road from Sistova, and thus cut off the Turkish guns, which had been 
in the earthwork near the town. 

And what of the Turkish monitor? She had been hemmed in by a 
cordon of torpedoes within the side channel to the south of the island 
of East Vardim. Although she was puffing and blowing furiously in 
her circumscribed area, a Russian battery moving down the river 
bank on the Roumanian side shelled her into a melancholy victim of 





HOSTILITIES BEGUN. 


461 


the acknowledged supremacy of the newest war machine. So the 
resistance terminated, and what followed is mere routine work. Iron 
pontoons begau casually to make their appearance both from up stream 
and down stream, and accumulated about the crossing-place, being 
used for the time as ferry-boats. 

The crossing was effected with marvelous skill and finesse. Until 
the last moment no hint was given. The foreign attaches were all 
abroad. The Emperor and suite were ostentatiously at Turna Mague- 
erelle, and yet further to promote the delusion, the Nicopolis position 
was assiduously bombarded the day before. The successful efforts, 
probably one of the greatest operations of modern warfare, cost only a 
thousand men killed and wounded. 



A Russian Battery Commanding the Danube. 
























462 


THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. 


CHAPTER XXVIII. 

THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. 

Simultaneously with the crossing of the Pruth by the Russian? 
in Europe, the army of the Caucasus crossed the Asiatic frontier of 
Turkey in three columns. The main force, coming from Alexam 
dropol, marched upon Kars; the Rion detachment marched upon 
Batoum; and the Erivan detachment up m Bayazid. The Alexan- 
dropol corps, under the command of Adjutant-General Loris Melikoff, 
entered Turkish territory in two columns, and, taking the Turkish 
outposts prisoners, on the same day reached Holla Musa and Bash 
Shuragel. On April 27th the greater part of the corps crossed the 
River Kars Tchai, and passed the night at Kuruk Lara, Hadshi 
Yali, and Subotan. On the 29th the corps reached Zaim and Angi 
KefF, despatching twenty-seven squadrons and sotnias, with sixteen 
guns, to cut off the communication between Kars and Erzeroum. 
This cavalry, under the command of Major-General Tchavwchvadse, 
in their successful reconnoitring on the 28th, 29th, and 30th, destroyed 
the telegraph between Kars and Erzeroum, and pursued a Turkish 
detachment of eight battalions marching from Kars to Erzeroum, and 
commanded by Mukhtar Pasha himself. To support the cavalry 
General Loris Melikoff ordered twelve battalions of grenadiers, with¬ 
out knapsacks, accompanied by forty guns and five sotnias, to turn 
the flank of the Turks at Kars, and proceed rapidly to Visinkeff. At 
the same time eight Turkish battalions sallied forth from Kars, and, 
with some artillery, took up a position under cover of the fortress 
guns. The artillery which accompanied the Russian cavalry, opening 
fire, dismounted a Turkish cannon. After this engagement, General 
Loris Melikoff, leaving the cavalry at Visinkeff, and with his remain¬ 
ing forces, returned on May 1st to his former camp at Zaim. The 
population everywhere showed the most friendly disposition towards 
the Russian troops. There was no resistance or opposition whatever. 
On the contrary, Russian rule was everywhere accepted as a benefit. 
On April 24th a recently levied squadron of Karapapachs, with their 
colors, begged permission to enter the Russian service. All the 


7 HE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA, 


463 



Hobart Pasha, Commander-in-Chief of the Turkish Navy. 


irregular cavalry of the district either joined the Russian forces or 
dispersed. 

The troops of the Rion detachment, under the command of Lieu¬ 
tenant-General Oklobjio, marched upon Batoum in two columns. 
The left-hand column, under the command of Major-General Deni- 
bekoff, made for Muchastir, while the other, under General Scherem- 
tieff, proceeded along the Atchmarum road. On April 25th the 
left-hand column, after a serious engagement, took the camp of 



464 


THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. 


Muchastir, and on the 26th fortified this strong position. The other 
column marched the Atchwaum road, and likewise had an engagement 
with the Turks. The Russian loss on the 25th amounted to thirty 
wounded, among them Lieutenant-Colonel Muscheloff, the commander 
of the sixth battery of the Forty-first Artillery Brigade. 

The troops of the Erivan detachment, under the command of General 
Tergukassoff, on the morning of April 30 reached Bayazid and 
occupied the town and citadel. The Turkish garrison, one thousand 
seven hundred strong, hastily withdrew to the Allah Dagh hills when 
the Russian troops approached the place. 

The military operations connected with the Russian advance will be 
better understood by the following account of the Asiatic theatre of 
war, in connection with the map contained in this volume. The great 
barrier of the Caucasus, which naturally divides Europe from Asia, 
has for many years ceased to form the frontier of Russia, and the 
mountain chain itself, with some hundreds of miles of its southern 
slopes, is now in Russian hands. Georgia and part of Armenia have 
come beneath the sovereignity of the Czar, and are pierced with roads 
available for military operations. The conquest of these provinces 
was no light task; but that dogged obstinacy with which Russia 
carries on her unchanging policy of annexation has triumphed over 
all obstacles, and, little by little, Russia has extended her territory 
southwards towards the Mediterranean. The great barrier of the 
Caucasus once overstepped, natural frontiers have ceased to exist, and 
the further progress of Russian conquest is but a question of time. 
All the Caspian Sea except its southern shore is now in Russia’s hands. 
Her flotilla there is steadily increasing; naval stations are being 
constructed; a little further development of railways and the Caspian 
will become a Russian lake, for Persia is already, like a ripe plum, 
ready to drop into the mouth of the Czar. The Trans Caucasian 
provinces of Russia can be approached in three different directions: 
by the seaports in the Black Sea, the chief of which are Sukhum-Kali 
and Poti; by the seaport of Baku, on the shore of the Caspian; and 
by that one road which alone crosses the mountains of the Caucasus. 
This road traverses the Kasbek Pass, and throughout the whole of the 
winter months is impassable from deep snow. The seat of government 
is at Tiflis, a town of about one hundred thousand inhabitants, mostly 
Georgians and Armenians, where are the arsenal and chief military 




THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. 


465 


stores of the province. Tiflis is not fortified. It lies immediately 
south of the Kasbek Pass, by which it can be approached from the 
railway station of v T ladikavkas, by a road of about one hundred and 
forty miles in length, crossing over the mountains at a height of eight 
thousand feet above the sea. This road is known as the Georgian 
military road, and is always kept in good order, being repaired as 
soon as the winters’ snows have cleared off From it a railway runs 
to Rostov and Taganrog, in the Sea of Azov. From Tiflis to the 
seaport of Poti, a distance of nearly two hundred miles, there runs a 
single line of railway, and beside it a road, which has fallen somewhat 
out of repair since the railway was built, crossing numerous streams. 
Poti is a very inferior port. There is a bar at the mouth of the river 
Rion, and ships have to lie in the open roadstead, and their cargoes 
must be unloaded into barges for discharge. A belt of swampy forest 
runs inland for some distance, and the place is the haunt of fever and 
ague. It is said that no European has passed a night there and been 
spared by the fever. About sixty or seventy miles north of Poti is 
the seaport of Sukhum-Kali, where there is a better anchorage, though 
entirely unsheltered from the south wind. It is a more healthy 
situation than Poti, and would probably long ago have been united 
by railway to Tiflis were it not that Russia has not considered it worth 
while to spend money for this purpose, as she has always intended to 
annex the nearer and still better Turkish port of Batoum, lying just 
south of her frontier. From Tiflis to Baku, the Caspian seaport of 
Trans-Caucasia, there is a good post-road, about three hundred and 
fifty miles in length. Baku is a small town, having a population of 
only about twelve thousand, situated in the midst of a barren and 
desolate country, where vast naphtha beds yield their contents by 
means of springs, the preparation of naphtha forming the chief in¬ 
dustry of the place. It has a sheltered harbor, and is distant a little 
more than five hundred miles from Astrachan and the mouth of the 
Volga. 

Russian Trans-Caucasia contains very varied natures of country. 
The plain of the river Rion, which runs into the Black Sea at Poti, is 
chiefly clothed with dense timber forests, and is feverish and unhealthy. 
The basin of the river Kura, which runs into the Caspian, contains in 
its upper part fertile valleys, but its lower part, as well as the lower 
basin of the Araxes, flows through barren steppes, which can only be 
30 


466 


THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. 


cultivated by means of a careful irrigation. The soil, except that of 
the steppes, is of a rich character. The country rises towards the 
southern slopes of the mountains in a succession of terraces, all cul¬ 
tivated. Corn of various kinds is grown, there are rich pasture lands, 
cotton and flax have been successfully cultivated, and the manufacture 
of tobacco is on the increase. Rich mineral deposits have also been 
found, chiefly of copper, but also of iron and of silver. We have 
already pointed out that there are three means of communication 
between the interior of Russia and these Trans-Caucasian provinces— 
by the Black Sea and Poti, by the Vladikavkas railway and the 
Kasbek Pass to Tiflis, and by the Volga and the Caspian to Baku. 
As soon as the present war was declared, Russia lost the command of 
the Black Sea route; and she is therefore now restricted to the pass 
over the mountains, which will be closed against her on the approach 
of winter, and the Caspian route, which is also likely to be blocked 
by ice. From Poti through Tiflis to Baku runs a great main road, 
nearly parallel with the chain of' the Caucasus. It is the spine of 
Trans-Caucasia; from it on one side extend vertebrae in the shape of 
roads running at right angles from this main road to the Turkish 
frontier. Commencing from the' Black Sea coast, one such road 
follows the coast line from Poti to Fort St. Nicholai, a small work 
which has been bombarded by the Turkish ships since the opening of 
the campaign. From Orpiri, a village about forty miles inland from 
Poti, a good post-road descends to Ozurgeti, and is connected with 
Fort St. Nicholai. It is from this post that a Russian reconnoissance 
advanced in the direction of Batoum at the opening of the campaign, 
and was driven back by the Turkish troops posted on the Tchourouk. 
The next road of any importance to the frontier is one which, starting 
from a point about half way between Tiflis and Poti, follows the valley 
of the Upper Kura to Akhaltsich, a town of some fourteen thousand 
inhabitants, close to the Turkish frontier. 

From Tiflis a road runs to Achalkalaki, a distance of more than | 
one hundred miles, passing on the road the village of Biely Klutch, to 
which a part of the Tiflis arsenal has recently been removed. Ach¬ 
alkalaki, which was once a fine city, is now but a poor village. It 
has, however, a fort of very secondary importance, also commanded 
from hills at short range. From Tiflis there are several routes leading 
to the great Russian frontier fortress of Gumri or Alexandropol, and 




Opening Fire by the Russian Battery at Ibraila, 


THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA 


467 













































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































468 


THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. 


through this passes the main high road into Asiatic Turkey. The 
fortress here is separated from the town by a ravine, and has been 
considerably strengthened by the Russians. A number of Krupp guns 
of very large calibre have been mounted there; but it is apparently 
capable of escalade from the towns and ravines on the eastern side. 
Alexandropol has been converted by the Russians into a great frontier 
depot. Here was collected the force which, under General Melikoff, 
advanced on the main road against Kars, and it will doubtless be the 
advanced base of operations in the Russian campaign against Turkey. 
By far the best though the longest way from Tiflis to Alexandropol 
is to follow the main road towards Baku until Novo-Akstafa is 
reached, thence to turn off on the post-road to Delijan, where the road 
branches, one good roirte leading to Alexandropol, another to Erivau. 
The distance from Tiflis to Alexandropol by this route is about one 
hundred and seventy miles. There is a shorter road, but not so good, 
only about one hundred and twenty miles in length. Erivan is situated 
some forty miles back from the Turkish frontier, and from it runs the 
great post-road to Tabriz, in Persia, and thence to Teheran. Erivan 
is a town of some twelve thousand inhabitants, mostly Armenians, 
and has one of those old-fashioned fortifications which depend chiefly 
for their strength upon the thickness of their walls. From Erivan 
some inferior roads lead over the Ararat range to Bayazid, a fortified 
place situated in the extreme angle of the Turkish frontier, under the 
slopes of Mount Ararat; and by these roads Russian troops advanced, 
and Bayazid surrendered without a blow, its garrison falling back in 
the direction of Erzeroum. A road running parallel to the frontier, 
in many places very bad, but still available for troops, connects Fort 
St. Nicholai, Akhaltsich, Achalkalaki and Alexandropol with villages 
at the foot of the Ararat range. The whole of the country lying 
between the great Poti-Baku road and the Turkish frontier is inter¬ 
sected by ravines and streams. 

Let us now pass to the Turkish territory. Standing back about 
one hundred and eighty miles from the Russian frontier at Alex¬ 
andropol, with a mountainous, broken country between, is Erzeroum, 
the capital of Turkish Armenia, with a population of about fortv 
thousand souls. It is far better built than most Turkish towns, its 
houses being mostly constructed of stone, and some of them of hand¬ 
some appearance. It stands on a small hill at the foot of a mountain 


THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. 


469 

in an extensive plain, and contains no less than seventy mosques and 
three Christian churches. It is well supplied with fountains, whose 
water is conducted to them by conduits from the hills. It is sur¬ 
rounded on north, south, and east by high mountains, on the slopes 
of which the Turks have constructed earthworks, but it is not strongly 
fortified. From Erzeroum as a centre, roads branch out to all parts 
of the frontier from Bayazid to Batouin; the two chief roads being 
that leading through Kars, which is about forty miles from Alex- 
andropol and one hundred and forty from Erzeroum, and that leading 
by Kara Kalissa to Bayazid, distant about one hundred and eighty 
miles. The first of these roads—namely, that by Kars—divides at 
Meshed, about sixteen miles west of Kars, whence two separate routes 
lead to Erzeroum—one by Bardez and Olti, and one by Khorasan; 
another f.od more northern road leads direct from Kars to Olti, 
without &Ang near Bardez; a road also leads from Kars to Kara 
Kalissa, on the Bayazid-Erzeroum road. From Olti, which is about 
seventy miles from Erzeroum, a road leads to Ardahan, some twenty 
miles from the frontier, opposite Ackhalkalaki; and another road to 
the frontier opposite Akhaltsich; another, again to Batoum. Thus, 
if the Turks take up a position between Olti and Khorasan, they will 
cover all the roads leading from the Russian frontier upon Erzeroum.* 
From Khorasan to Olti would be about four marches. In front of 
this line there is a chain of mountains called the Soghanli-Dagh, 
covered with forests of Scotch firs and intersected by streams run¬ 
ning in deep gullies, but penetrated by numerous tracks, some of them 
even passable for wheels, by which an advancing army is enabled to 
evade the main roads. It was in this manner that Paskievitch turned 
the Turkish position when they attempted to defend these mountains 
in 1829. 

And now a word as to the Turkish defences on the frontier. And 
first Batoum. Batoum, though exposed to the north, is a good 
harbor, sheltered from the south winds by high hills, with deep water 
close to the shore. It is about thirty miles by land from the Russian 
frontier, and is strongly defended both by land and by sea. The value 
to any nation whose territories border the Black Sea is great; for it is 
the only good port on the east coast south of the Sea of Azov. Doubt¬ 
less if it had been in the hands of the Russians, it would long ere this 
have been in railway communication with Tiflis; and we can well 


470 


THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. 


understand their anxiety to obtain it. The wretched port of Poti 
owes its prosperity, if not indeed its very existence, to the slip of the 
pen; for when Turkey ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Adrianople 
the territory between Kars and the sea, the boundary line was by 
general consent drawn to run down the river Tschorooch, which 
arrangement would have brought over to the Russian side the advan¬ 
tageous harbor of Batoum. It was, however, discovered, but not until 
after the ratification of the treaty of peace, that the river Tscholock, 
which runs about eighteen miles on this side of Batoum, had been 
inserted in the treaty as the boundary line. Batoum was lost, and 
Poti was accepted in its stead. The next fortified place is Ardahau; 
here there are only field-works; it is a mere mud village, with an old 
castle, the houses being for the most part built underground for 
protection from the severity of the climate. Ardahan can be ap¬ 
proached both from Akhaltsich and Acholkalaki; but it atfords 
excellent position for defence against an advance from either side. 
Kars is a partly walled town, with a citadel situated on both banks 
of the Kars-Tchai, crossed here by stone bridges. It has a population 
of thirteen thousand or fourteen thousand and is situnted in a corn- 
producing .plain. It is surrounded by heights, and would be difficult 
to fortify thoroughly; but the Turks constructed redoubts for its 
defence. The garrison left the fortress on April 30, and took up a 
position under the shelter of the redoubts. Erzeroum is situated on 
the upper waters of the western Euphrates ; to reach it from Bayazid 
the upper waters of the eastern Euphrates are crossed. From Erze¬ 
roum to Trebizond there is a good road of about two hundred miles 
in length; and it is about the same distance to Diarbekir, on the great 
Bagdad caravan road. From Diarbekir to the Gulf of Scanderoun it 
is about three hundred miles. 

In the early part of May a rising occurred in Circassia, which 
threatened seriously to endanger the Russian position before Batoum 
and Erzeroum, as the line of country between Poti and Tiflis was at 
tlu time practically in the hands of the Turks and the local population. 
Just after the declaration of war, five leading Circassian chiefs started 
trom Constantinople for Batoum. Their names were Hadji Hussein 
Bey, Mandkambekat Bey, and Mehemet Bey. They had arranged 
a carefully considered plan of action with the Ottoman authorities 
and their own countrymen. Arrived at Batoum, they went on board 



THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA , 


471 



View of Widdtn, from Kalafat. 


the squadron of Hassan Pasha, who forthwith sailed with five iron-elads 
for the Russian port and fortress of Soukum Kaleh. The Turkish 
men-of-war made their destination in the darkness of early morning, 
casting anchor a little after three o’clock a.m. They at once landed 
the Circassian chieftains, with a party of men carrying six hundred 
muskets and ammunition, which were speedily distributed among the 
expectant and willing people. The neighboring country was so 
thoroughly and quickly roused that by broad daylight the Beys had 
got together as many as three thousand Circassians. Hassan Pasha 
then landed an additional force, composed of other Circassians, Kurds, 
Lazis, and Turks; and, while the iron-clads opened a vigorous can¬ 
nonade upon the fortress, the Bevs, w r ith their volunteers and aux¬ 
iliaries, attacked the place with desperate resolution. The Russians 
offered a determined but vain opposition, losing terribly. 







































472 


THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. 


After this the insurrection spread like wildfire. The inhabitants of 
the surrounding districts gathered by thousands with weapons of all 
sorts to the Turkish standard. They drove the Muscovite garrison 
and road guards all over the district, chasing them to Gangara, which 
they also destroyed. When these successes were reported, Hassan 
Pasha landed a new supply of rifles and cartridges to equip the Cir¬ 
cassians, and a formidable local force was organized to march upon the 
railway line to Tiflis, aiming at the direction of Kutais, and a large 
band was despatched to raise the country in the rear of the Russian 
columns which were in position before Batoum. 

At the latter place, a conflict of no small importance occurred on the 
10th and 11th of June, resulting in a victory for Turkish forces. For 
reasons best known to themselves, the Turks had allowed the outer 
heights, which were held by the Bashi-Bazouks, to remain wholly 
undefended by any pieces of artillery. The men were in their 
trenches, their outposts were in good position, but guns they had none. 
The Russians must in some way have come to know this; for on the 
afternoon of the 10th they began an attack which could only have 
been made in the expectation of meeting no heavier fire than that of 
musketry. Boldly quitting all kind of cover, they advanced recklessly 
across the open plain of Tchwruk-Scu, where they were encamped, and 
began to ascend the hills without the slightest appearance of having 
anything to fear. The guns from the other parts of the Turkish lines 
were unable to do much to prevent this, and as, at the close of this 
- first day, the Turks still held their positions, the Pasha in command 
composed himself to sleep with the sweet reflection that Allah would 
by no means permit his servants and the friends of Mohammed to be 
dispersed, and still sent no guns to the position. Accordingly, the 
next morning saw a renewal of the battle. On came the Russians up 
to the very entrenchments, notwithstanding the shower of shot poured 
in upon them. Four times they attempted to carry the lines, and 
four times were driven back by the indomitable valor of the Bashi- 
Bazouks. The fact that the Russians had artillery in the fight, and 
the Turks none, made very little difference; for the shells the Mus- 
covs threw seemed to have an invincible objection to striking a Mus¬ 
sulman, and all went very wide of the mark for which they were 
intended. Even when the guns were brought forward the Turks, 
rushing out of their entrenchments, came almost up to their muzzles 



THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. 


473 


in chase of the flying Russians. At one time during the battle there 
was a very splendid, though a sanguinary, spectacle. The Russians, 
coming on in a somewhat dense column, were slowly pushing up the 
mountain side when a body of Bashi-Bazouks were taken into the 
great wood which covers the Turkish right wing, and passing through 
were brought out upon the Russian flank, effecting great slaughter, 
the Muscovites being upon ground perfectly open, and having no 
choice but to fight or fly. The. Russian line at first stood firm; then 
hesitated; there was a volley, then a sign of wavering; they were 
retreating—and soon running—throwing their rifles away and making 
off across the plain, with the Bashi-Bazouks in full chase. But as the 
Russians ran they gradually got under cover of the guns, which 
increased their energetic fire, and very soon the Bashi-Bazouks had 
to fall back and get into the wood once more. Still it was a signal 
victory for the Turks; more than four thousand Russians were on the 
ground—a thousand Turks lay there also. Altogether the affair was 
most creditable for the Turkish arms, and might have been magnifi¬ 
cently utilized by a good commander. However, as night came on, 
the Pasha gave orders for part of the heights to be evacuated, and 
next morning saw them occupied by a body of Russians. Thus the 
Turks gained a victory and lost a good position. In the movement 
against Kars the Russians were more successful. 

The Russian cavalry under General Loris Melikoff, made recon¬ 
naissances on April 28th, 29th, and 30th, in the direction of Kanicheff, 
Yladikars, Tikmo, Sanebuthor, and Bazigran. A detachment of his 
forces reached Lachejuirt, where it succeeded in destroying the tele¬ 
graph line from Kars to Erzeroum for a distance of seven miles. 
Another detachment of the division, under General Cheremetieff, 
advanced as far as Varimon, near the Sagauluc. Eight battalions of 
Turks proceeding with a battery of artillery from Kars to Erzeroum, 
were pursued by the Russian cavalry, losing their baggage and 
ammunition wagons. General Melikoff, with the object of supporting 
the cavalry, put himself on the march on April 29th, and on the 
same day, with forty thousand troops, attacked Mukhtar Pasha, 
encamped five miles from Kars. The Turks fought desperately, but 
the Russians, supported by powerful artillery, dislodged them from 
all their positions. Mukhtar, calling out all the reserves of the Kars 
garrison, attempted at six o’clock next day to recover his ground with 


474 


THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. 




an army of sixty thousand men ; but the Russians, reinforced during 
the night by two divisions and ten batteries, beat the Turks all along 
the line, and drove them under the guns of Kars. The losses on both 
sides were considerable, but those of Mukhtar -were euormous. 

About the same time, on the appearance of the vanguard of the 
Erivan Division, the Turkish garrison of Bayazid, numbering seven¬ 
teen hundred men, left the place and withdrew to the Allada heights, 
abandoning a large quantity of ammunition. The Russian troops 
immediately occupied the town and citadel, thus securing the com¬ 
mand of the road which leads to Erzeroum, the capital of Armenia. 

On the 16th of May Major-General Komaroff executed a recon- 
noissance before Kars, with four battalions of infantry, two batteries, 
and three sotnias of irregular cavalry and Karapack militia. The 
two latter, while marching in advance on the left wing, were vigor¬ 
ously attacked by a Turkish force consisting of one thousand dragoons, 
eight infantry battalions, and a battery of artillery. Six sotnias of 
Dagestian cavalry were sent to the assistance of the left wing, and a 
stubbornly-contested hand-to-hand engagement ensued. The Turks 
had sixty-four dead, besides wounded, and two prisoners. They also 
lost many horses and a quantity of arms. The losses on the Russian 
side were one officer and twenty horsemen killed, and five officers and 
fifty-four horsemen wounded. 

On the next day, the Russians captured the outworks of Ardahan, 
its fortifications, sixty guns, immense stores of provisions and ammu¬ 
nition, the camp formerly occupied by fourteen battalions of Turks, 
and the citadel, an outpost of Kars. The admirable fire of the 
Russian artillery had, between three and six p.m., made a breach in 
the walls of the place. At six o’clock the Erivan, Tiflis, and Baku 
regiments, and the sappers, advanced to the assault. The Turks 
could not withstand the onslaught, and took to flight, leaving a great 
number of dead on the field, the cavalry pursuing them in spite of the 
darkness. At nine p.m. the troops traversed the whole town, as well 
as all the fortifications, while the bands played the Russian National 
Anthem. 

After the capture of Ardahan the siege of Kars was prosecuted with 
vigor. The Russians made a determined effort to carry Fort Kara- 
dagh, on the east side. This fort commands the Gumri and Ale* 
andropol roads, and covers the citadel on the right bank of the Kars 



THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA . 


475 



Prince Charles of Roumania. 

Tchai. The assault was well delivered; a most desperate tight continued 
for five hours with artillery, the Turkish infantry being repeatedly 
repulsed, although renewing the assault with reinforcements. Under 
cover of a tremendous cannonade the Turks made a sudden sortie on 
the Muscovs; a hand-to-hand fight followed with the infantry, the 
Russians exhibiting the most remarkable intrepidity under the plough¬ 
ing fire of shell and grape with which their lines were being rapidly 
thinned. A few more vigorous dashes of the Turkish infantry with 
the bayonet, and their opponents fell back, losing heavily in their 
retreat from the pursuing fire of the fort and batteries, accompanied 
by a skillfully executed dash of the Circassians, succeeded in cutting 
off a number of Cossacks. 



4'6 


THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. 


On the 30th of May the bombardment of Fort Karadagh was 
renewed with considerable fierceness, the Russians having brought 
heavier guns into position, with which they pounded away with a 
continuous shower of shell which, however, did not prove effective. 

On the morning of June 14th the Russians, from their batteries on 
the western and eastern sides, opened a slow, but well directed, fire on 
Forts Tekhmass and Karabagh; as the day advanced their cannonade 
became heavier, and combined assaults were made on both points, new 
movements being developed by the besiegers. Throughout the day, 
and until night terminated the conflict, a fierce combat was waged 
with artillery and musketry, the assailants losing heavily in each 
assault from their exposed position. On the next day the fight was 
renewed with a determination as if the Russians were making a 
supreme effort to carry either or both entrenched forts, the possession 
of which would have been, perhaps, fatal for Kars. With equal 
earnestness the garrison met the several attacks with an effectiveness 
which was remarkable in view of the immense force brought to bear 
against the defenders. On the 16th a bloody battle was fought, the 
Russians making tremendous sacrifices of men to achieve success. At 
the point of the bayonet they were hurled back again and again, their 
advancing columns, having previously been swept by the batteries, 
reforming and throwing themselves on the bayonets of the Turks, who 
fought with a bravery and a skill worthy of veteran soldiers. Beaten 
at all points, the Russians once more fell back, leaving the ground 
covered with their wounded and dead. 

The most serious engagement since the invasion of Armenia occurred 
upon the same day, between Alaschkar and the village of Delibaba, 
not far from Topra Kal6, on the road leading from Bayazid to Kapri 
Kenyi, the line of communication of the Turkish right wing. The 
Turks had occupied Tabur, and it was their intention to throw up 
intrenchments there and await the coming of the Russians. But 
bolder counsels prevailed during the night, and accordingly at 6.30 
o’clock on the morning of the 15th, six battalions of infantry and all 
the companies of field artillery marched towards Zeidekan. A reserve 
force of two battalions was left at Tabur. By noon the Turkish army 
had regained the heights they had abandoned the evening before. These 
heights are about six miles from Tabur. The Russians also reoccupied 
the heights they had captured the previous day. No attack was made, 




THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. 


477 


however, by either army that day, and at night both armies encamped 
upon the heights they had held. Some skirmishing took place in the 
night which followed, between outposts of the two armies, and in one 
of these conflicts a Turkish general, while reconnoitering, was badly 
wounded. 

The following day, June 16, the battle was fought. The Russian 
infantry was in line at 5 o’clock in the morning and at 6 o’clock 
began their march towards the Turks, descending into the valley that 
lay between them and their enemy’s camp. At the moment that the 
infantry began their advance, the Russian artillerymen began to shell 
furiously the Turkish camp. The Turkish artillerymen replied to the 
fire, and also shelled the swiftly advancing Russian infantry. They 
were very unskillful in their use of the cannon, however, and ap¬ 
parently did but little execution among the dark masses of the 
approaching enemy. The Russians in twenty minutes had descended 
from their camp, and had scaled a small ridge that lifted itself in the 
valley between the two heights. By this movement they succeeded 
in forcing back a little the Turkish right wing. There was then 
constant firing between the infantry of the two armies for over an 
hour, the Russians apparently not daring to make a further advance. 
The Turkish artillery during the interval fired constantly at the 
Russian soldiers, but were unable to drive them back from the ridge 
to the heights. The Turkish cannon apparently did some execution, 
however, for after enduring their fire for an hour, the Russians brought 
dow r n four field guns from their camp and vigorously replied. The 
Russian cannon were so well handled that the Turkish left wing was 
compelled to fall back. The Russian infantry then made a fierce 
attack on the Turkish right wing and also forced it back. The 
Turkish commander, while attempting to rally his soldiers, was shot 
through the head and killed. Two hours then passed without any 
change in the position of the two armies; the Turkish infantry and 
artillery meantime firing unremittingly upon the Russians, while the 
latter, singularly, as the Turks thought, did not return it. The Rus¬ 
sian regiments were engaged continually in what seemed to the Turks 
purposeless evolutions, but the object was soon made apparent to them. 
The Russians brought all their artillery from their camps and placed 
it in advantageous positions, and shifted the bulk of their infantry to 
their left wing. The moment all was ready the Russian artillery 


THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. 


478 

began shelling the Turkish left wing, and the strong Russian right 
wing dashed upon it. Both the Turkish infantry and artillery, when 
this assault was made, were short of ammunition. The Turks resisted j 
the attack very bravely, however, and it was only after there weie 
great gaps in their, ranks where the dead and wounded had fallen, 
that the right wing gave way. The Cossack cavalry dashed into the 
intervals between the retreating masses of the Turks and cut down 
every straggler. 

The Turks retreated to Tabur. They lost during the battle two 
thousand dead and wounded, besides Mehemet Pasha, their commander, 
who fell, sword in hand, in front of his men. The Russian loss was 
only five hundred. 

After the engagement of the 16th the Russians prepared themselves 
for a great attack on the Turkish right wing, or rather on the right 
flank of the Turks; but their plan was not crowned with success— 
because the Turks had already been reinforced by six thousand infan¬ 
try and one thousand one hundred and fifty cavalry. The Turks pre¬ 
sented all their front to the Russians, and the battle terminated after 
a discharge of musketry, and cavalry skirmishing, without the use of 
artillery. In the evening of the same day, the 18th, the Russians 
withdrew to the plain of Khalias, where they chose their position and 
mounted six Ivrupp guns, in order to protect their line of retreat on 
Zedikan. The Turkish right wing was completely ignorant of the 
plan of the Russians, whose cavalry was continually pushing forward 
reconnoitering in the direction of Passin. Ahmed Mukhtar, after 
having reinforced the right wing under the command of the General 
of Division Ahmed Pasha, left his corps under the provisional com¬ 
mand of Koort Ismail Pasha, and went to Tai-Khodja, a village at 
about four miles from the gorge of Delibaba, and fifteen miles from 
Khalias. On the 20th of June he put himself at the head of a Cir¬ 
cassian cavalry force of six hundred men, and arrived at the camp 
of the Ottoman right wing, occupying a portion of the little plain of 
Khalias, on the left bank of the river. 

At seven o’clock on the morning of the 21st a desperate struggle 
began between the two combatants. The Russians had taken their : 
position on the right bank of the river, the distance which separated 
the two armies being three miles. A well-sustained fire of artillery 
continued for two hours. At nine o’clock a.m. the Russians made a 





THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. 



































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































480 


THE CAMPAIGN IN ASIA. 


charge, crossed the river, and dislodged the Turkish front, which fell 
back on its line of retreat, protected by the continual fire of the two 
batteries mounted in a favorable position. 

The Russians not being able to sustain any longer their position, 
began to withdraw. Their cavalry was then charged by the Circassians 
and suffered heavy loss. Upon order of General TergukasofF, Russian 
regulars and irregulars dismounted and fought as riflemen. At two 
o’clock the Turks, who had driven back the Russians beyond the 
river, continued their pursuit for four hours, but were compelled to fall 
back in consequence of the great losses that their left flank sustained 
by the fire of the Russian battery stationed in, a very favorable 
position. The retreat was effected in good order; the Russians ad¬ 
vanced again, and for a second time passed over the limits of their 
line of attack; a destructive fire was exchanged on both sides. At 
half-past four o’clock a column of the Turkish reserve fell on the 
right flank of the Russians and compelled them to give way. This 
manoeuvre lasted until nightfall; both sides fought well. The Turks 
lost in this battle five hundred and eighty killed and four hundred 
and eighty wounded. The Russian loss was about the same number. 
The Russians began to fall back on Alashkirt, closely pursued by 
the Turks, who had been reinforced. 

On the following day, the 22d, Mukhtar Pasha again fought a 
severe battle. The Russian cavalry had to be placed in the entrench¬ 
ments and take the part of infantry, but ultimately the Turks drove 
them out and pursued them, the Russians being routed and retreating 
in disorder as far as Seidekan. The whole of the fighting lasted 
thirty-three hours; the Turkish loss was upwards of two thousand 
men, and the Russian losses were still heavier. 




OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA. 


481 


CHAPTER XXIX. 

OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA. 

The crossing of the Danube at Simnitza, which was begun on the 
morning of Wednesday, June 27th, was kept up all day and through 
the night, the troops crossing as quickly as circumstances would 
permit. The number of boats was augmented in the course of the 
day to about three hundred. General Dragimiroff followed up the 
retiring Turkish infantry, who fell back in the direction of Rustchuk. 
Their rear maintained a desultory skirmish till the summit of the 
heights was reached, and then they ran for it, pursued for a short 
distance by the Russians, both infantry and Cossacks, the latter being 
in but scanty numbers. Just as night fell General Dragimiroff brought 
up a battery of horse artillery in pursuit, which kept up a brisk fire 
for some little time. 

Sistova was occupied on the afternoon of the 27th. A detachment 
of Cossacks wound up the glen of Jerkir Dere, at the mouth of which 
was the landing-place. It then inclined to the right, scouting along 
the footpaths, among the fields and gardens, poking its way cautiously 
along. The strongest detachment crept cautiously westward on Sis¬ 
tova; the leading files first peered into the shattered earthwork, where 
two dismounted field guns were found, and then gradually felt their 
way into the town, peering around the corners of the streets, and 
patrolling onward by twos and threes, until, with infinite patient 
circumspection, they had gone through the whole place. Some few 
houses which presented a suspicious aspect were entered. 

Between the period of the flight of the Turks and the entry of the 
Russian troops, the Bulgarians sacked and wrecked the Turkish houses 
without a single exception. The pillage and destruction were as 
sweeping and universal as if the place had been sacked by a victorious 
army after storming. There was not a whole pane of glass in the 
window of any Turkish house in all Sistova. The wrecked interiors 
presented an indescribable chaos of destruction. Cupboards were 
smashed, floors torn up, shelves torn down, stoves broken, in search of 
secreted mouey. The floors were strewn with miscellaneous debris and 



482 


OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA. 


torn books printed in curious characters. Judging from the number 
of these in the better houses, the wealthier Turks of Sistova seemed 
to have been a reading people. The furniture was broken in sheer 
wantonness, and the plaster shattered. The divans were broken up; 
in fine, the ruin was thorough and universal so far as the interiors of 
the houses were concerned. 

Nor was the destruction confined to the habitations. There were 
eight mosques in Sistova, and all were wrecked; their interiors were 
scenes of indescribable destruction. The very railings were broken 
into small pieces as if in the keen zest and gloating enjoyment 
of laying waste. The few Turkish shops and stores in Sistova were 
pillaged of everything valuable, and the fixtures of the interiors 
were smashed into fragments and splinters. Nothing in the place 
escaped wreck, and the aspect of uninjured dwellings intermingled 
with others reduced to the extremity of dilapidation, was strange and 
significant. 

The proceedings of the crossing were temporarily interrupted by 
the sudden appearance of a monitor steaming slowly up the stream. 
It appears that she worked her way out through the lower end of the 
channel behind the island of East Mardim, and had run the risk of 
torpedoes. Puffs of smoke arose from the Russian field battery oppo¬ 
site the western end of that island, and more distant reports betokened 
the return fire of the monitor. She passed the battery, taking its fire 
in so doing. This lasted about an hour and a half. There was a 
general rush back from the 'water’s edge to the pontoon wagons. The 
infantry waiting to cross fell back for cover into the willows. The 
columns leaving Simnitza reversed their march, and there was some¬ 
thing like a stampede of the baggage wagons. The bridge had already 
been begun, and it was felt that the monitor might do infinite harm. 
Her smoke drew nearer as she slowly steamed up the stream until at 
length she was in the same reach as the crossing-place. There she 
stopped, and there she supinely waited for nearly two hours, neither 
moving nor firing a shot. The Russians made no attempt to dislodge 
her, so far as was apparent, but she inexplicably withdrew of her own 
accord, steaming away slowly down the river. 

Continuing their advance from Sistova, the Russians came upon 
Biela, a village about twenty miles from that place, in a southeasterly 
direction. Here the Turks were concentrated in great force, and a 




OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA. 


483 



Europeans Starting for a Ministerial Balt, in Constantinople. 

terrible battle began on Saturday, June 30th. Both sides fought as 
if the whole campaign had depended on the issue of the engagement. 

The Ottoman General had employed the time at his command in 
taking measures for a most determined stand, and using the forces at 
his disposal to the be3t possible advantage. 

The Russians began the attack with great impetuosity, but from 
the first the Turkish artillery made fearful havoc in their ranks. 
The Ottoman infantry also fought with conspicuous bravery, and in 
the end the invading columns, unable to withstand the onslaught of 
the defending forces, retreated, leaving the ground covered with the 
dead and dying. 

On Monday the Russians made a second attack on Biela, where 
Echreff Pasha held the bridge across the Yantra, with troops from 
Rustchuk. 

The Russians endeavored to cover the movements of their infantry 
by a heavy artillery fire. Anticipating the intention of their assail¬ 
ants, the Turks reserved their fire, replying but slowly with artillery. 






































































































484 


OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA. 


Presently, the Muscovite infantry advanced to the assault, availing 
themselves of every spot of shelter till within a short distance of the 
bridge, when they suddenly developed their attack with a heavy 
musketry fire. The Turks, who were posted behind well-constructed 
semi-circular trenches, commanding the bridge and its approaches, 
now opened at short range—not over three hundred yards—a vigorous 
and sustained infantry fusilade, well supported by their batteries. 

Although suffering severely from the concentrated fire with which 
they were met, the Russians moved steadily forward, the gaps in their 
ranks being quickly filled up, replying with file volleys—their dogged 
determination reminding one of the old soldiers of the Crimean War. 
They evidently meant to make a large sacrifice in order to achieve 
victory. 

Immovably the Ottomans received the assault. Their steady fire 
at so short a range, and being so w r ell entrenched, proved too much 
for the attacking force, which ultimately wavered and commenced to 
fall back. The Turks then assumed the offensive, and emerging from 
their trenches moved briskly with the bayonet on the retreating 
enemy, but being well controlled, they did not continue the pursuit 
very far, and returned to their former positions. 

Night arriving, the Russians retired from Biela, taking the high- 
ground paths in the direction of Tirnova, their flank being enveloped 
in clouds of Cossacks, scouting and signalling. 

On the 8th of the following month a body of cavalry and a battery 
of horse artillery appeared at Tirnova, surprised the defenders, and 
captured the Turkish camp, with the ammunition and baggage. The 
garrison consisted of three thousand regular Turkish infantry, and a 
battery with an unknown number of militia, who fell back upon 
Osman Bazar, in the direction of Schumla. Four days after, the 
Grand Duke arrived, with the Eighth corps, and the town was for¬ 
mally occupied by the Russians. The march from Sistova was rather 
like a military promenade or a triumphal procession than a forced 
march, which it really was. Everywhere the people came out, with 
the most friendly greetings. At the entrance of many of the villages, 
arches were erected, covered with leaves and flowers. Processions, 
headed by priests, came out singing to meet the troops, with pictures 
from the churches, standards, and banners, while in every direction 
.here were deafening cheers, and the most extravagant joy. 





OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA. 


485 


Simultaneously with the march to Tirnova, a division of the Ninth 
Corps, which with the Eighth Corps and the Bulgarian Legion 
formed the army under the immediate command of the Grand Duke 
Nicholas, moved from Sistova towards Nicopolis, it being understood 
that when it had taken the latter town it would move southwards and 
advance towards the Balkans via Plevna, when it could either follow 
the Eighth Corps through Tirnova, or advance by the Lovatz Pass to 
Tatar Bazardjik and Philippopolis. The troops sent to Nicopolis 
arrived on the heights above that town on Sunday, July 15th. After 
a bombardment which lasted from five in the morning until nine at 
night, the Russians succeeded in gaining the fortress, and the Turks 
surrendered, their garrison consisting of six thousand men under 
command of Achmed Pasha and Hassan Pasha. 

At Plevna occurred the only serious reverse the Russians had 
encountered in the European campaign, but it was very serious, and 
as an aggravation it occurred through neglect of common military 
precautions. 

When the commander of the Ninth Corps proceeded against Nico¬ 
polis he made the omission of not protecting his flank by sending 
cavalry to occupy Plevna, then only w'eakly held. Afterwards an 
easy chance did not offer. The Turkish column from Widdin, march¬ 
ing too late to succor Nicopolis, turned aside and occupied Plevna. 
With intent to repair the blunder General Kriidener sent three 
regiments of infantry against Plevna and without a previous recoil 
noissance. These, after hard fighting, actually occupied the town, on 
the 20th of July. They had laid aside their cloaks and packs in 
the streets, and had quitted the fighting column formation, believing 
all was over, and were singing as they straggled along. No patrols 
had been pushed into the recesses of the town. No cavalry had been 
sent forward beyond. The whole business was slovenly to a degree. 

The penalty was paid. Suddenly, from a hundred windows and 
’balconies, a vehement fire was poured into the troops straggling along 
the streets. They were beset on all sides, and had to retreat. One 
regiment left its packs where they had been taken off in the street. 
During the retreat, more or less precipitate, about two thousand nine 
hundred men were lost. One regiment lost nearly two thousand men. 

On the twenty-second, Prince Schackoskoy received orders to leave 
in position at Osman Bazar two infantry brigades, and march on 




486 


OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA. 


Plevna, right across the theatre of war from east to west, with one 
cavalry brigade and one infantry brigade of his corps. The Thirtieth 
Division of the Fourth Corps, who were crossing the river at Simnitza, 
en route for Tirnova, were ordered on Plevna to stand under Schac- 
koskoy’s orders; and the Ninth Corps, about and in front of Nicopolis, 
was also ordered to cooperate in a combined movement against Plevna. 

Plevna was reported to be occupied by the whole of Osman Pasha’s 
army from Widdin, strengthened by troops from Sophia, in all believed 
to be from thirty-five thousand to forty thousand men. Their en¬ 
trenchment line ran through a series of villages lying in a semi-circular \ 
order round Plevna, at a distance from it of about five miles, and 
touching the river Yid on both flanks. A strong Turkish advance 
force was reported at Grivitza on the road along which lay Schack- 
oskoy’s line of advance. From north to south the villages of the 
Turkish forepost position were as follows: Plizitza, Bukova, Badisovo, 
Turcirici, and Bogot. I 

Schackoskoy -was, as we have said, in the village of Karajac Bul- 
garski. His brother corps commander, Baron Kriidener, was for the 
night in the village of Kalisovil, on the road from Nicopolis to Plevna, 
and about eight miles northwest of Schackoskoy’s headquarters. As 
senior, General Kriidener was nominally in chief command of the 
whole operations, but he acted under instructions from the Grand 
Duke Nicholas in Tirnova. 

In the night of the 28th the younger general SkobelofF reached 
Prince Schackoskoy’s headquarters from Tirnova, appointed to the 
temporary command of the Cossack Brigade, in the force of the 
Prince. He received instructions to march his brigade to the south¬ 
ward, and occupy, if possible, the town of Loftcha, an important posi¬ 
tion between Plevna and the Balkans—a hazardous expedition, con¬ 
ducted along the face of a hostile front, and likely to meet with 
resistance en route , and also at the point of destination. But Skobeloff 
galloped off with a light heart on this dangerous duty. 

On the morning of the 29th Prince Schackoskoy quitted Karajac 
Bugarsky, and made a reconnoissance along the road towards Plevna, 
in the direction of Grivitza, where the Russians killed in the previous 
attempt still lay unburied. His march lay over beautiful grassy 
downs and through little wooded valleys. The Turks were not seen, ' 
but cannon fire was heard to the south in the direction of the march of 




OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA. 


487 



Apollon Ernestovitch Zimmerman. 


SkohelofF on Loftcha. Retracing his steps, and bending to the south¬ 
ward, Schackoskoy bivouacked for the day on a plain near the village 
of Pordin, with a brigade of infantry in front. The Russian front was 





488 


OPERA T10NS IN B UL GA RIA . 


thus widely extended, aiming at a concentric attack on the Plevna 
position, and including an attempt at wholly enveloping the Turkish 
position by cavalry operating on both flanks. 

The night between the 29th and 30th was spent with tents struck and 
horses saddled, waiting for the order to advance, in anticipation of the 
commencement of fighting at sunrise; but Baron Kriidener had deter ¬ 
mined to wait yet a day longer to perfect his dispositions and give the 
troops, fatigued by severe marching, some rest. The 30th was therefore 
spent in inaction, except that the troops were somewhat drawn forward 
to be within striking distance for the morrow. Tidings came that no 
more Turkish troops were marching from Plevna on Loftcha, which 
simplified matters, since fewer troops were required to watch the 
latter place. A general council of war was held at Pordin on the 
afternoon of the 30th, at which were present Baron Kriidener, Prince 
Schackoskoy, and the generals of divisions and brigades. The colonels 
of regiments and staff officers waited to receive instrctions as to the fiual 
dispositions. It was settled that the action should begin next morning 
at five o’clock by a general concentric advance on the Turkish positions 
in front of Plevna, and that Prince Schackoskoy and the general stafl 
should move forward at four o’clock. Several aides of the Grand 
Duke Nicholas arrived, and were detailed to various points to make 
observations, and after the battle to carry reports of the results back 
to Tirnova. The gravity of the task before the army was fully 
recognized, for reconnoissances had proved the Turks to be in greater 
force than was at first believed. Twenty thousand regulars had come 
from Widdin. The Turkish positions were known to be strong by 
nature, and strengthened yet further by art. 

The night between the 30th and 31st was very "wet, and troops did 
not begin to march forward before six instead of four. The number 
of infantry combatants was actually about thirty-two thousand, with 
one hundred and sixty field cannon and three brigades of cavalry. 
Baron Kriidener was on the right with the whole of the Thirty-first 
Division in his fighting line, and three regiments of the Fifth Division 
in reserve at Karajac Bugarsky. He was to attack in two columns, 
a brigade in each. On the left was Schackoskoy with a brigade of 
the Thirty-second Division and a brigade of the Thirtieth Division inf* 
fighting line. Another brigade of the Thirtieth Division was in 
reserve at Pelisat. The Turkish position was convex, somewhat in a 




OPERATIONS Itf BULGARIA. 


489 


horseshoe shape, blit more pointed. Baron Kriidener was to attack 
the Turkish left flank from Grivitza toward the river Yid. Schac- 
koskoy was to assail their right from Radisovo, also toward the rive 
Yid. On the left flank of the attack stood Skobeloff, with a brigad 
of Cossacks, a battalion of infantry, and a battery, to cope with tin 
Turkish troops on the line from Plevna to Loftcha, and hindering then: 
from interfering with the development of Schackoskoy’s attack. On 
the right flank stood Lascaroff, with two cavalry regiments to guard 
Kriidener from a counter attack. 

The morning was gloomy, which the Russians regarded as a favor¬ 
able omen. The troops cheered vigorously as they passed the General. 
Physically there seemed no finer men in the world. In the pink of 
hard condition, and marching without packs, carrying only great 
coat, haversack with rations, and ammunition, they seemed fit to go 
anywhere and do anything. Schackoskoy’s right column marched 
over Pelisot and Sgalievica. The left column headed straight for 
Radisovo. The artillery pushed forward from the first, and worked 
independently. 

Kriidener, on the right, opened the action at half-past nine, bringing 
a battery into fire from the ridge on the Turkish earthwork above the 
village. At first it seemed as if the Turks were surprised. It was 
some time before they replied, but then they did so vigorously, and 
gave quite as good as they got from Kriidener. 

The objective of Prince Schackoskoy was in the first instance Radi¬ 
sovo. This village lies in a deep valley behind the southern ridge of 
the Turkish position, and there is another ridge behind this valley. 
On that ridge the cannon, placed by Colonel Bischofsky, chief of 
Prince Schackoskoy’s staff, fired in line on the Turkish guns on the 
ridge beyond the valley, with fine effect. The infantry went down 
into the valley under this covering fire, and carried Radisovo with a 
trivial skirmish, for in the village there were only a handful of Bashi- 
Bazouks, who, standing their ground, were promptly bayoneted. The 
infantry remained under cover of the village. 

The batteries, firing with great rapidity and accuracy, soon com¬ 
pelled the Turkish cannon to quit the opposite height. During the 
last spurt of their firing Prince Schackoskoy rode along the rear of 
the batteries, from the right to the left, under a fire which killed two 
horses in the little group accompanying him. The cannon playing on 






490 


OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA. 


the Turkish guns on the opposite ridge quelled their fire after about 
half-an-hour’s cannonade, and it was then for the Russian batteries to 
cross the valley passing through Radisovo and come into action in the 
position vacated by the Turkish guns; and following them the infantry 
also descended into the hollow, and lay down in the glades about the 
village, and on the steep slope behind the guns in action. 

There were now five batteries ranged along the crest of the ridge 
beyond Radisovo, directing a converging fire on the Turkish guns on 
the central ridge beyond. In their exposed position their fire was 
notwithstanding heavy and steady. The staff awaited the result of 
the preparatory cannonade on the ridge behind Radisovo. Looking 
down into the Turkish positions, there could be seen four batteries 
defending the earthwork about the little village which seemed to be 
the foremost of their fixed and constructed positions on the central 
ridge. It stood on a little knoll, and was well placed for searching 
with its fire the valleys by which it could be approached. Beyond 
were more, and yet more earthworks right to the edge of the broad 
valley, where the roofs and church towers of Plevna sparkled in the 
sunshine from out a circle of verdure. The place had an aspect of 
serenity strangely contrasting with the turmoil of the cannon fire 
raging in front of it. 

By one o’clock the Russian infantry had nowhere been engaged. 
The operations hitherto were confined to the artillery. Kriidener on 
the right flank had scarcely progressed at all, and his cooperation in 
a simultaneously combined attack on both flanks was indispensable. 
It would have been fortunate if Schackoskoy had acted on a full 
recognition of this fact, which the obvious strength of the Turkish 
positions should have impressed on him. Kriidener had gained much 
less ground than he. He seemed little further forward than at the 
commencement, whereas Schackoskoy was at comparatively close 
quarters, and within striking distance. Kriidener was behind, either 
because his attack was not pushed energetically, or because he was 
encountering obstacles with which Schackoskoy had not met. The 
latter, in his impatience, determined to act independently, and strike 
the Turks single-handed. Fearful was the retribution exacted for 
that error of judgment. 

About half-past two the second period of the battle commenced. To 
ascertain whether the artillery had sufficiently prepared the way for 





OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA. 


491 



Preparing to Bridge the Danube from Widdin to Kalafat. 

the infantry to act, Schackoskoy and his staff rode on to the ridge 
where the batteries were firing, and had to dismount precipitately 
under a hurricaue of shell fire which the Turkish gunners directed 
against the little group. A long and anxious inspection seemed to 
satisfy Schackoskoy and the chief of his staff that the time had come 
when the infantry could strike with effect. 

Two brigades of infantry were in the Radisovo valley, behind the 
guns of General Tchekoff’s brigade. The leading battalions were 
ordered to rise up and advance over the ridge to attack. The order 
was hailed with glad cheers, for the infantrymen had been chafing at 
their inaction, and the battalions, with a swift, swinging step, streamed 
forward through the glen and up the steep slope behind, marching in 
company columns, the rifle companies leading. The artillery had 
heralded this movement with increased rapidity of fire, which was 
maintained to cover and aid the infantry when the latter had crossed| 
the crest and were descending the slope and crossing the intervening 
valley to the assault of the Turkish position. Just before reaching 
the crest the battalions deployed into line at the double, and crossed 
it in this formation, breaking to pass through the intervals between 
























OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA. 


492 

the guns. The Turkish shells whistled through them as they ad¬ 
vanced in line, and the men were already down in numbers, but the 
long undulating line tramps steadily over the stubble, and crashes 
through the undergrowth on the descent beyond. No skirmishing 
line is thrown out in advance; the fighting line remains the formation 
for a time, till what with impatience and what with men falling it 
breaks into a ragged spray of humanity, and surges on swiftly, loosely, 
and with no close cohesion. The supports are close up, and run up 
into fighting line independently and eagerly. It is a veritable chase 
of fighting men impelled by a burning desire to get forward and come 
to close quarters with the enemy firing at them there from behind the 
shelter of the epaulement. 

Presently all along the face of the advancing infantrymen burst 
forth flaring volleys of musketry fire. The jagged line springs onward 
through the maize fields, gradually assuming a concave shape. The 
Turkish position is neared; the roll of rifle fire is incessant, yet 
dominated by the fiercer and louder turmoil of the artillery above. 
The ammunition wagons gallop up to the cannon with fresh fuel for 
the fire; the guns redouble the energy of their firing; the crackle of 
the musketry fire rises into a sharp peal; the clamor of the hurrahs of 
the fighting men makes the blood tingle with the excitement of the 
fray. A village is blazing on the left; the fell fury of the battle has 
entered on its maddest paroxyism. The supports that had remained 
behind lying just under the crest of the slope are pushed forward over 
the brow of the hill. The wounded begin to trickle back over the 
ridge; the dead and the more severely wounded are seen lying where 
they fall on the stubble and amid the maize. The living wave of 
fighting men is pouring over them ever on and on. 

The gallant gunners to the right and to the left stand to their work 
with a will. On the shell-swept ridge the Turkish cannon fire begins 
to waver. In that earthwork over yonder more supports stream down 
with a louder cheer into the Russian fighting line. 

Suddenly the disconnected men are together. The officers are 
signalling for the concentration by the waving of their swords. The 
distance is about a hundred yards. There is a wild rush, headed 
by the colonel of one of the regiments of the Thirty-second Division. 
The Turks in the shelter trench hold their ground, and fire steadily, 
and with terrible effect, into the advancing forces. The colonel’s horse 






OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA. 


493 


goes down, but the colonel is on his feet in a second, and waving hi 
sword, leads his men forward on foot. But only for a few paces. He 
staggers and falls dead. 

Now is heard the sound of wrath, half howl, half yell, with which 
his men, bayonets at the charge, rush on to avenge him. They are 
over the parapet and shelter trench, and in among the Turks like an 
avalanche. Not many Turks get a chance to run away from the 
gleaming bayonets, swayed by muscular Russian arms. The outer 
edge of the first position is won. The Russians are bad skirmishers; 
they despise cover, and give and take fire out in the open. They dis¬ 
dained to utilize against the main position, the cover afforded by the 
parapet of this shelter trench, but pushed on in broken 01 der up the 
bare slope. In places they hung a little, for the infantry fire from the 
Turks was very deadly, and the slope was strewn with the fallen dead 
and wounded; but for the most part they advanced nimbly enough. 
Yet it took them half an hour from the shelter trench before they 
again converged and made their final rush at the main earthwork. 

This time the Turks did not wait for the bayonet points, but with 
one final volley abandoned the work. Their huddled mass could be 
seen in the gardens and vineyards behind the position, cramming the 
narrow track between the trees to gain the shelter of their batteries in 
the rear of the second position. 

So fell the first position of the Turks. Being a village, it afforded 
ample cover, and Schackoskoy would have acted wisely had he been 
content to hold it and strengthen it till Kriidener, on his right, should 
have carried the Grivitza earthwork, and come up in line with him. 
But the Grand Cross of Saint George dangled before his eyes, and 
tempted him to rashness. 

Kriidener was clearly jammed. The Turks were fighting furiously, 
and were in unexpected force on that broad central ridge of theirs as 
well as against Kriidener. The first position in natural as in artificial 
strength was child’s play to the grim starkness of the second on that 
isolated mamelon; there with the batteries on the swell behind it. 
But Schackoskoy determined to go for it, and his troops were not 
the men to baulk him. 

Schackoskoy kept his finger well on the throbbing pulse of battle. 
Just in the nick of time half his reserve brigades were thrown into 
the fight while the other half took part in the attack more on the 
left flank. 


OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA, 


494 



The Grand Duke Nicholas, 

In the Costume of a Circassian Chief, and attendant Wallachian Girl. 


The new blood tells at once. There is a move forward, and no more 
standing and craning over the fence. The Turks in the flank earth¬ 
work are reinforced. All of a sudden the white smoke spurts forth, 
and swarms of dark-clothed men are scrambling on. There is evidently 
a short but sharp struggle. Then a swarm of men are seen flying 













































OPERATIONS IN PC/LG ARIA. 


495 


across the green of the vineyard. But they dont go far, and prowl 
around the western aud northern faces of the work, rendering its 
occupation very precarious. The Turkish cannon from behind drops 
shells into it with singular precision. 

As a matter of fact, the Russians occupied this the second position 
of the Turks, but never held it. It was all but empty for a long time, 
and continuous fighting took place about its flanks. 

About six the Turks pressed forward a heavy mass of infantry for 
its recapture. Schackoskoy took a bold step, sending two batteries 
down into the first position he had taken to keep them in check. But 
the Turks were not to be denied, and in spite of the most determined 
fighting of the Russians, had reoccupied their second position before 
seven. 

The First Brigade of the Thirty-fifth Division had early inclined to 
the left, where the tow 7 er and houses of Plevna were visible. It w r as 
rash, for the brigade w T as exposing its right flank to the Turkish 
cannon astride of the ridge, but the goal of Plevna was a keen tempta¬ 
tion. There was no thoroughfare, however; they would not give up, 
and they could not succeed; they charged again and again, and when 
they could charge no more from sheer fatigue they stood and died, 
for they would not retire. The reserves came up, but only to swell the 
slaughter. And then the ammunition failed, for the carts had been 
left far behind, and the most sanguine gave up all hope. 

Two companies of Russian infantry did indeed work round the 
right flank of the Turkish works, and dodge into the town of Plevna, 
but it was like entering the mouth of hell. On the heights all round, 
the cannon smoke spurted out, and the vineyard in the rear of the 
town was alive with Turks. They left after a very short visit, and 
now all hope of success anywhere was dead, nor did a chance offer to 
make the best of defeat. Schackoskoy had not a man left to cover 
the retreat. The Turks struck without stint; they had the upper 
hand for once, and were determined to show that they knew how to 
make the most of it. 

They advanced iu swarms through the dusk on their original first 
position and captured three Russian cannons before the batteries could 
be withdrawn. The Turkish shells began once more to whistle over 
the ridge above Radisovo and fall into the village behind, now 
crammed with wounded; the streams of wounded wending their pain- 


496 


OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA. 


ful wry over the ridge were incessant; the badly wounded mostl; 
lay where they fell. Later in the darkness the Bashi-Bazouks 
swarmed over the battle-field, and spared not. Lingering there on 
the ridge till the moon rose, the staff could hear from down below on 
the still night air the cries of pain, the entreaties for mercy, and the 
yells of bloodthirsty fanatical triumph. It was indeed an hour to 
wring the sternest heart. 

On the 7th of August another battle was fought and won by 
Osman Pasha, this time on the road between Loftcha and Plevna, 
near the village of Vladina. 

After his previous defeat of the Russians, Osman pressed on the 
retreating troops with his cavalry for a considerable distance, in the 
direction of the Yantra. 

On the 5th of August he discovered that the Muscovites had com¬ 
menced to concentrate, having received considerable reinforcements; 
and subsequently ascertained that they were again advancing to renew 
the attack. Collecting his detached forces, Osman Pasha took up a 
strong position at the place above indicated, and, having entrenched 
it, awaited the coming assault, his troops being animated with the 
utmost confidence in their chief, and eager for the conflict. 

Early on the morning of the 7th the wished for opportunity arrived. 
The Russians advanced to the assault in vast numbers, the Ottoman 
troops apparently adopting the same strategy as on the occasion of 
their victory at Plevna. 

The Russians commenced the battle by a heavy artillery fire on the 
Ottoman batteries, to which there was a sharp and effective reply. 
For some time this artillery duel was maintained, without advantage 
to the Muscovs. A simultaneous movement on the flanks and centre 
was then developed by the entire Russian attacking force, their 
infantry advancing in dense masses against the Turkish trenches, 
from which a terrible fire was delivered on the Russians. 

Throughout the day a deadly fight was waged along the whole line, 
the Russians unavailingly endeavoring to dislodge the defenders of the 
position so well selected by Osman Pasha. Every renewed effort by 
the Muscovs resulted in terrible loss and defeat. 

At every point the Ottomans maintained their ground, fighting with 
an obstinacy and a courage intensified by the recollection of their 
recent success against the same foe, and conscious of the disastrous 
consequences of defeat at this supreme Russian effort. 


Scene on a Turkish Gunboat. 


OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA. 


497 



32 


































































































































































































































498 


OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA. 


The assault was made with great determination and valor. Nothing 
but the superior generalship and willing sacrifice of the defenders 
could have successfully resisted the tremendous onslaughts of the 
Russian infantry, as they advanced undaunted and unflinching under 
a*fusilade that ploughed their ranks with a destructiveness that was 
appalling. 

Watching his opportunity, Osman turned his defence into attack on 
his enemy, which decided the fate of the day, and once more brought 
him victory. The Russians were driven back along the entire line, 
leaving immense numbers of killed and wounded on the field. 

While these events were being enacted in the vicinity of the Balkans, 
offensive operations were not neglected in the region of the Danube. 
A spirited naval engagement took place below Silistria on July 21st, 
the actors in which were those who had lately blown up a Turkish 
monitor with torpedoes. The Turkish Danube flotilla, which had 
disappeared from view since the taking of Nicopolis, had again shown 
itself in action with most disastrous results. In the judgment of the 
Russian commander, the time had coma when the operations of the 
army on the right bank of the Danube might be supported by the 
very rudimentary Russian fleet on the river. Accordingly Lieutenant 
DoubasofF went witli the steamer Nicholas and two steam launches, 
and opened fire on a Turkish camp fourteen miles from Silistria, 
compelling the Turks to remove from that position. This proceeding 
was as presumptuous as it was annoying, and the Turkish naval 
authorities, remembering that the late commander of their flotilla was 
in Constantinople to answer inquiries as to his past inertness, sent a 
monitor out to meet the Russians. The fifth shot from the Nicholas, 
commanded by Lieutenant Maximovitch, an officer of engineers, set 
fire to the bridge of the monitor, but the flames were extinguished. 
The tenth shot caused a more violent outbreak of fire, and the monitor, 
compelled to cease firing, approached the bank and began disembark¬ 
ing her crew, the Russians stimulating the process by shell-firing. A 
Turkish steamer and another monitor subsequently arrived from 
Silistria, and as a battery was also brought up to the bank, th^ 
Nicholas and the sloops retired firing, having suffered no loss. On 
the 23d five Turkish steamers and two monitors went down the river 
from Rustchuk, when the fire from the heavy guns at Slobosia set on 
fire and destroyed three Turkish steamers and sank a fourth. Thus 





OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA. 


499 


within a few days four Turkish steamers were destroyed, and another 
and a monitor seriously damaged. 

In the meantime preparations were gradually progressing for an 
attack upon Rustchuk, about sixty miles above Silistria. The fortress 
stands on a plateau, which rises abruptly fifty to a hundred feet high 
from the river at twenty to eighty paces from it. Inclosed by a wall, 
and in some places by moats, it appears hardly capable of any great 
resistance; but it is rendered unapproachable in the west by the Balta 
(lake) Mairu, on the Roumanian bank of the Danube, which runs 
here from southwest to northeast, and also by the river itself and its 
tributary, the Lom (not to be confounded with the river of that name 
in West Bulgaria). It can, therefore, only be attacked from the 
northeast and south, where well-armed fortifications were constructed, 
calculated to afford an obstinate resistance to an attacking party. A 
strong citadel serves to protect Rustchuk; it commands the whole 
town, the Danube with its islands, and even the low-lying portions of 
Giurgevo, on the Roumanian shore. ^ 

After the crossing at Sistova, the Twelfth and Thirteenth Army 
Corps were constituted into the army of Rustchuk, destined for the 
siege of that fortress, with the Cesarewitch as commander-in-chief. 
General Camcowsky, hitherto chief of the Twelfth Corps, was ap¬ 
pointed chief of staff to the Cesarewitch; and the Grand Duke 
Vladimir, brother of the Cesarewitch, succeeded to the command of 
the Twelfth Corps, heading the advance on Rustchuk. In the early 
part of July its cavalry division w T as already forward in the vicinity 
of the fortress, driving in the outlying Turks, and the Thirty-third 
Division marched forward soon after. The First Division advanced 
nearer the Danube in a parallel line. 

During the first weeks of July the main portion of the army was 
massed along the river Yantra, with headquarters at Biela, with the 
object of holding in check the Turkish field army extending from 
Rasgrad to Osman Bazar. Great impatience was naturally felt in 
the Rustchuk army at this prolonged inactivity, yet the policy of this 
attitude was obvious. While two corps stood lining the road of 
advance on Tirnova, an attempt to intercept that advance, or to 
disturb its communications, could be made. Yor was this all. The 
Turkish field army could not change its front and, marching to its 
left, move off into the Balkans to interfere with the passage of the 


500 


OPERATIONS IN BULGARIA . 


Russians through the defiles without showing a flank, and, indeed, it3 
rear, to this threatening mass of men, purposely motionless for the 
time, but ready to march quickly and far when the opportunity for 
doing good by so doing should offer. The policy was obvious, but it 
was cautious. It was not in accord with Prince Frederick Charles’s 
standing orders, “Find your enemy, and fight him whenever and 
wherever you find him.” 

Towards the middle of July, the restriction against crossing the 
Yantra at length gave way. The army of Rustchuk was ordered to 
move on towards Rustchuk, and the headquarters were moved to a 
village called Beleova, on the east bank of the Yantra, about midway 
between Biela and the Danube, the centre of the new position being 
located about Domogila, a village seventeen miles from Rustchuk, 
between the Yantra and the Lom. 

By the close of July Rustchuk was completely invested, the Rus¬ 
sian army being massed on the western bank of the Black Lom, which 
flows due north and enters the Danube at Rustchuk. The principal 
concentration of this army was near the Danube, but the right flank of 
its cavalry was at Polomarka, twenty-five miles north of Osman Bazar, 
and the villages of the intervening space were filled with troops. 



A Russian Ambulance Train. 










PASSING THE BALKANS. 


501 


CHAPTER XXX. 

PASSING THE BALKANS. 

General Gourko marched out from Tirnova on the morning of 
July 12th at the head of eight regiments of cavalry and six battalions 
of the Tirailleur brigade. His main body marched upon Elena, a 
place southeast of Tirnova, but it was necessary to ascertain how far 
the Turkish concentration, said to exist about Osman Bazar, was in 
force, and whether the alignment of the enemy was prolonged from 
Osman Bazar in a southerly direction through the Balkans. Accord¬ 
ingly General Gourko led a cavalry reconnoissance on the Schumla 
road in the direction of Osman Bazar, and pushed it home with 
considerable determination. He learned that there were some six 
thousand Turks in the Osman Bazar district, which, however, con¬ 
stituted the left flank of the Turkish alignment between the Danube 
and the Balkans. Their position did not prolong itself into the 
mountains, so leaving a detachment of the Ninth Corps, which had 
followed him, to watch the Turkish position about Osmao Bazar, he 
coolly turned his back on the Turks and headed due south for the 
Balkans. 

About Elena he picked up the mass of his detachment, and in two 
forced marches he was in the heart of the Balkans, striking that 
section of the range known as the Elena Balkans. Through these 
there are three passes into the Valley of the Tunja, nearly parallel 
with each other. One, which is the central of the three, is called the 
Hanka, or Hainkoi Pass, from the name of the village at its southern 
exit. The most easterly pass of the three is called the Zupanci Mesari 
Pass. General Gourko had as guides the Christian inhabitants of 
the intricate valleys of the Balkan ranges, who have never wholly 
bowed to Turkish rule. Led by them with long-extended and swiftly 
stretched-out arm, he clutched a grip of the throats of these three 
parses Through each he passed a detachment, but he himself, and 
the mass of his command, penetrated the defile of the Hanka Pass a 
narrow defile with precipitous rocks on either side, and somew lat 
tortuous. The gradients of the track are surprisingly easy, hut the 


502 


PASSING THE BALKANS . 


track was too narrow for the wheels of the gun carriages and mountain 
batteries which accompanied the column. In the most difficult part 
of the pass General Gourko’s eclaireurs came on a fortified position 
held by a battalion of Turkish Nizams who appeared taken utterly by 
surprise by the sudden appearance of the Cossacks. Many were killed 
and wounded, and the Nizams, who never had recovered from the 
confusion of the surprise, bolted precipitately. 

Here, as in the two other passes, battery emplacements were found 
in judiciously-chosen positions; but they had remained unarmed. 
General Gourko had been too nimble for the slow-paced, unmethod¬ 
ical Turks. When they were sitting still saying “Bismillah,” he was 
riding through their unarmed earthworks. When General Gourko 
had traversed this Hanka Pass he found himself, as we have stated, in 
the valley of the Tunja, and he came out of the mountain into that 
at a singularly advantageous point, the village of Esekei, nearly 
equidistant from the three important places, Kazanlik, Yeni Saghra, 
and Eski Saghra. 

The importance of Kazanlik consists in being at the mouth of the 
Shipka Pass, one of the Balkan thoroughfares between Gabrova and 
Kazanlik. Yeni Saghra is on the branch railway to Yamboli. Eski 
Saghra is quite beyond the Balkans, on the higher slopes of the 
Maritza Valley, and is the focus of good roads leading to all the points 
of the valley. 

General Gourko knew that reinforcements were following him, 
and seemingly believing in the axiom that nothing succeeds like 
success, struck at all three places. Pie sent a detachment of Cossacks 
to cut the railway at Yeni Saghra. He sent a small body of cavalry 
to occupy Eski Saghra, and collect' transport materials. As for 
Kazanlik, information reached him that it and the Shipka Pass were 
strongly held by the Turkish troops. Assuming that these belonged 
to the same army he had already touched at Osman-Bazar, his march 
had cut them off. He had traversed the line of communication 
between them and their main body. If so, they would the more 
easily be dealt with. If> on the other hand, they belonged to troops in 
force further west, or were simply an independent command, the 
daring wisdom of attacking them seemed to General Gourko equally 
obvious. So, instead of setting his face in a southeasterly direction 
down into the valley, with the glittering spires of Adrianople as his 


PASSING THE BALKANS. 


503 



gl 


mWMM 


General Joseph Veadimirovitch Gourko, 




504 


PASSING 1 HE BALKANS. 


objective, be turned westward, and marched up the Tunja Valley on 
Kazanlik. 

It was on the 14th that the Hanka Pass was forced. The Turks 
retreated westward on Konaro, but next day having received rein- j 
forcements, they attacked General Gourko’s vanguard, a rifle bat¬ 
talion, as the column marched on Konaro. After some sharp fighting 
the Turks were repulsed, Konaro occupied, and two of their camps 
taken. 

On the same day a column of Cossacks sent to Yeni Saghra success¬ 
fully cut the telegraph and railway. Next day, the 16th, General 
Gourko marched on Naglis. His troops formed in three columns, 
some consisting of infantry, close to the mountains. The middle 
column was cavalry and infantry, and the left column cavalry only, 
with orders to cover the flank, and if possible to turn that of the 
enemy. At Uflami he was stopped by a strong position, and had to 
cope with the Turkish artillery, cavalry, and infantry. When he was 
pushing them hard, five battalions of Anatolian Nizams came up as 
reinforcements, and behaved very well. Their fire, begun as it was 
at two thousand paces, caused the Russians considerable loss. The 
Russian orders were not to open fire till within six hundred paces of 
the enemy, and it was in the interval that the Russians suffered. But 
when their distance was reached they poured in a fire which soon 
compelled the Anatolians to yield the ground. 

The Russian direct attacking force was four battalions of rifles and 
two sotnias of infantry Cossacks, whom the Turks call priests, because 
of the cross they wear to distinguish them from the Circassian Turks. 
While the direct attack was being delivered the Russian hussars and 
dragoons charged the Turkish flank. There was very hot fighting, 
sabre and bayonet both being used freely. The Turks were at length 
driven from their position with loss. Four hundred were left dead at 
one point. The Turks fought very hard here, but their defeat at 
Uflami seemed to destroy their morals, and subsequently they did not 
fight so stoutly. 

On the 17th General Gourko approached' Kazanlik. There was 
terrible heat, and it was severe marching. The infantry waded into 
little streams to become soaked and so gain coolness. There was 
fighting more or less all day. On the evening of the 17th General 
Gourko entered Kazanlik. The Turks had detailed from the force 



MASSING THE BALKANS, 


505 


holding the Shipka Pass a column to occupy the heights flanking the 
entrance to Kazanlik and hinder General Gourko’s entrance; but his 
riflemen were beforehand in occupying these heights, and the Turks 
retired disappointed. 

It had been designed that Gourko should reach Kazanlik on the 
lGth, and on the 17th be free to assail in the rear the Turks holding 
the Shipka Pass, while Prince Mirski with the Ninth Division attacked 
them in front. But he was delayed by hard fighting, and the troops 
were too much fatigued to move further on the same day after the oc¬ 
cupation of Kazanlik. So there was no cooperation between General 
Gourko and Prince Mirski in attacking the Shipka Pass, but the 
latter, nevertheless, delivered an attack on that position marching 
southward from Gabrova. He sent against the Turks but one regi¬ 
ment, that of Orloff, which he divided into three columns. 

The pass was strongly fortified with six successive tiers of entrench¬ 
ments and batteries, and defended by picked Turkish troops, Circas¬ 
sians and Egyptians. The latter fought very hard. Of Prince 
Mirski’s three columns, that on the right encountered little oppo¬ 
sition and went on some distance, till it missed the support of the 
centre column, fought five or six hours, and then made good its 
lodgment in the hostile line. The left column, consisting of two 
companies, missed its way, and was beset by twelve companies of 
Turkish soldiers. It fought a retreating combat for four hours against 
terrible odds, losing eight officers killed and wounded, and about one 
hundred and fifty men. 

On the 18th General Gourko, his men refreshed, advanced to the 
attack of the Shipka position from the rear. Two battalions of rifles 
formed his advance. As they neared the rear of the position a flag 
of truce came out with a Parlementaire. The rifles at once halted, 
and an officer acting as escort went forward to meet the Parlementaire. 
While negotiations were going on the Russian riflemen in their curiosity 
quitted their extended formation and drew together into a mass behind 
where the officer was communing with the Parlementaire. Suddenly 
volleys of rifle fire were poured in upon them from the Turkish 
position. The Parlementaire took to his heels at a signal which the 
Russians heard but did not comprehend. So sudden and fierce was 
the fire that in their two battalions the Russians lost one hundred and 
forty-two men killed and wounded in a few minutes. The survivor# 






506 


PASSING THE BALKANS. 



A Russian Military Supply Train. 


in their fury waited for no order to attack, nor regarded any forma¬ 
tion. With one common impulse and with yells of wrath they rushed 
on. It was a bad quarter of an hour for the Turks; but the riflemen, 
finding no signs of cooperation in the attack from the north by Prince 
Mirski, contented themselves with driving back the Turks some 
distance, and occupied the abandoned Turkish camp in the rear of 
the fortifications. 

On the same night, in reply to General Gourko’s summons to the 
Turks to surrender and abandon the further unavailing defence of the 
pass, there came a letter from the Turkish commander, Mehemet 
Pasha, offering to surrender. Negotiations were entered into, and the 
hour for the surrender of the Turks was fixed for twelve at noon the 
next day. An armistice was arranged, and early on that morning 
the sanitary detachments went forward to bring in the wounded which 
the rifle battalions had been forced to leave behind. They sent back 
word that the Turks had fled and vacated the position. The offer of 
surrender was a ruse to gain time. 

Meanwhile, on the 18th, Prince Mirski had remained quiet, waiting 


















PASSING THE BALKANS. 


507 


for further information about Gourko’s movements. But on the 19th, 
young Skobeloff, taking some troops of Mirski’s, had pushed forward 
a reconnoissance into the pass from the north. To his surprise he met 
no opposition as he passed line after line of fortifications, and the 
hastily abandoned Turkish camps, with fires yet lit, rations half-cooked, 
and half written telegrams. At length lie reached the crest of the 
pass, and the view to the south opened before him. In a hollow at 
his feet he saw troops in camp. Were they Turks or Russians? The 
tents seemed Turkish, but the soldiers looked like Russians. Skobeloh 
tried the Russian hurrah as a test, but it was not replied to. At 
length, seeing the red cross flag of the ambulance staff, he knew that 
the men in the valley were his own people, and a junction was 
immediately formed. 

The Turks had fled westward in the direction of Hermedji. General 
Gourko remained in Kazanlik till the Eighth Corps, then occupying 
the defiles of the Balkans, had passed through them and massed, with 
supplies, for further progress. The road at first was only practicable 
for vehicles drawn by bullocks, but large numbers of men were at 
once employed in improving it. 

During the succeeding days the war was carried by the Russians 
further south of the Balkans, and nearer to Adrianople. For an ad¬ 
vance upon Yeni Saghra General Gourko organized a force consisting 
of three columns, with orders to converge at different points on Yeni 
Saghra, as follows: The right column, consisting of the Bulgarian 
Legion, two batteries of artillery and three regiments of cavalry, were 
to march from Eski Saghra; the central column, under Gourko 
himself, consisting of the Rifle Brigade, a regiment of Cossacks and 
four batteries of artillerv, marched from Kazanlik; the left column, 
of five battalions of infantry, two batteries and some Cossacks, marched 
from Hain Ivoi, the objective of all three columns being Yeni Saghra. 
Gourko marched from Kazanlik on the 29th of July, a terrible march 
of forty miles long. Nevertheless his troops came into action next 
mornincr on the left flank of the Turkish entrenchments in front of 
the railway station at Yeni Saghra to support the attack of the left 
column on their right flank. The Turks fought desperately, and 
bayonet fighting was long and strenuous, but after midday the Rus¬ 
sians forced the position, drove out the Turks, took Yeni Saghra, 
captured three gun a, blew up the railway station, and destroyed an 


508 


PASSING I HE BALKANS . 


immense mass of Turkish ammunition and stores. For want of cavalry 
no pursuit was then possible; but next day the Cossacks fell on the 
retreating Turks. In the afternoon came tidings, by a circuitous 
route, that the right column was seriously compromised in an attempt 
to force its way from Eski Saghra, and General Gourko determined 
to march westward to its succor. That night (the 30th) he reached 
Karabunar, where he arrived in darkness, but the whole valley was 
illuminated by blazing villages. Next morning hp marched onward 
upon Dzuranli, on the road to Eski Saghra, ignorant of the fact that 
some thirty thousand Turks confronted him and stopped the road into 
the latter place. The Turkish batteries swept the road with persistent 
fire; nevertheless General Gourko came into action, sending forward 
five battalions of infantry, covered by artillery. He had forty-eight 
horses killed in one battery and eight in another. Later the Turkish 
masses strove to turn the Russian left. The operation was resisted by 
the Tirailleur Brigade, supported by two regiments of the Ninth 
Livision. The attack was repelled, but with heavy fighting. Still 
?ater a column of Circassian cavalry strove to turn the Russian right 
on the mountain slopes, and the attack was succeeding when there 
appeared on the scene Leuchtenberg’s cavalry, which had cut its way 
out from Eski Saghra, and which repelled the movement of the Cir- j 
cassians and saved the right wing. General Gourko then bored on 
forward and reached a position which afforded him a distant view of 
Eski Saghra. Here there came to him an orderly who had evaded 
the Turks and brought him intelligence that his right column, con¬ 
sisting of the Bulgarian legion, was beset in Eski Saghra by a force 
of Turks estimated at twenty thousand men. General Gourko, small 
as was his force, resolved on an attempt to succor them, and in the 
meantime determined to maintain his position; but his resolution 
quailed before the appearance of two massive columns of Turks 
marching on his flank and rear. He had to leave the Bulgarians to 
shift for themselves, and make good his own retreat through the 
difficult and narrrow Dalboda Pass, and thence through the Haiukoi 
Pass, accomplishing his retreat on Thursday, 2d of August, amid cruel 
hardships. In the retreat the wounded died like flies from jolting and 
exposure. Hale men succumbed from fatigue and sunstroke. As for 
the Bulgarian legion composing Gourko’s right column, they, ad¬ 
vancing from Eski Saghra towards Karabunar, found the enemy and 


PASSING THE BALKANS. 


509 



A Russian Monitor on the Danube. 


•were driven in. On the 31st of July, after very hard fighting, the 
Bulgarians had to retire into the defile north of Eski Saghra, and 
thence effect their retreat through the Shipka Pass. Of the severity 
of the fighting a judgment may be formed from the fact that the 
Bulgarian legion began sixteen hundred strong. Between four and 
five hundred reached Shipka. 

The inability of General Gourko to hold Yeni Saghra and Eski 
Saghra against the superior forces of Suleiman Pasha foreshadowed 
the inevitable result—that at the beginning of August that officer 
held no important town south of the Balkans, and was only master of 
the position before the southern end of the Shipka Pass. Two regi¬ 
ments held the Hainkoi Pass, and detachments of troops were stationed 
at Drenova and Gabrova, while the main portion of the Russian army 
occupied in force a line extending from Tirnova to Shipka, under the 
command of Prince Mirski. 

On the 16th there was a general reconnoissance in some force by 
the Turks all along the Russian left flank. From the Danube to 
beyond the Balkans; from under the guns of Rustchuk, from Ras- 














PASSING THE BALKANS. 


5U 

grad; from 0.:man Bazar towards Bebrova, and at half a dozen 
intermediate places the soldiers of Mehemet Ali Pasha, beat up the 
Bussian positions confronting them. There was not much hard fight¬ 
ing, and little loss on either side; but the significance of the movement 
was that the Turks took the initiative. • 

From the Tunja Valley on the same day a column of Suleiman 
Pasha’s force attempted strenuously to force the Ilainkoi Pass, but 
after forcing its way into the defile, it was so roughly handled by 
the Bussian artillery in position, and by a regiment holding the Pass, 
that it was compelled to retire. 

On the 19th Suleiman Pasha occupied the village of Shipka, 
and on the 21st commenced an attack on the Bussian positions at 
the head of the Pass. It may be proper to explain to the reader 
that the Skipka Pass is not a pass at all in the proper sense of the 
term. There is no gorge, no defile; there is no spot where three 
hundred men could make a new Thermopylae; no deep-scored trench 
where an army might be annihilated without coming to grips with its 
adversary. It has its name simply because at this point there happens 
to be a section of the Balkans of less than the average height, the sur¬ 
face of which, from the Yantra Valley on the north to the Tunja 
Valley on the south, is sufficiently continuous, although having an 
extremely broken and serrated contour, to afford a foothold for a 
practicable track, for the Balkans present a wild jumble of mountain 
and glen, neither having any continuity. Under such circumstances, 
such a crossing-place as the Shipka point affords is a godsend, although 
under other circumstances a road over it would be regarded as impos¬ 
sible. What was a mere track had now become a really good and 
practicable, although steep, high road. The ground on either side of 
the ridge is depressed sometimes into shallow hollows, sometimes into 
cavernous gorges; but these lateral depressions are broken, and have 
no continuity, otherwise they would clearly afford a better track for 
a road than the high ground above. 

The highest peak is flanked on either side behind the lateral 
depressions by a mountainous spur higher than itself, and therefore 
commanding it and having as well the command of the ridge behind. 
The highest peak, that is to say, the first of these two spurs, can rake 
the road leading up to the Bussian positions. These spurs break off 
abruptly and precipitously, one on the northern edge, and therefore 


PASSING THE BALKANS. 


511 


afford no access into the valley north of the Balkans. Their sole use 
to the Turks, therefore, was in affording positions whence to flank the 
central Shipka ridge. It is possible also for troops to descend from 
them, struggle through the intervening glens, and climbing the steep 
slopes of the Shipka ridge, give the hand to each other on the road 
which runs along its summit.- This done the Shipka position would 
of course be turned, but the advantage would be of little avail till the 
road had* been opened by carrying the fortified positions on it. With¬ 
out the command of the road an enemy might indeed send bands down 
the road on to which he had scrambled, into the lower country about 
Gabrova to burn and plunder, but the road over the Shipka constitutes 
for an army the only practicable line of communication in this section 
of the Balkans. 

The troops engaged in the battle of Shipka Pass were as follows: 
The Bulgarians and a regiment of the Ninth Division under General 
Stoletoff; the Second Brigade of the Ninth Division, under General 
Derotchinsky; the Bifle Brigade under General Toitzwdnski. The 
Second Brigade of the Fourteenth Division, commanded by General 
Petrotchesti, arrived at nine in the morning, brought up by the com¬ 
mander of the division, General Dragimiroff, the whole force being 
under the chief command of General Badetzky, commanding the 
Eighth Corps, which is composed of the Ninth and Fourteenth Divi¬ 
sions, in all twenty battalions, which if full would give an aggregate 
of about seventeen thousand men; but every regiment engaged had 
already fought and lost. The Tirailleurs and Bulgarians shared the 
fortunes and misfortunes of General Gourko. The Fourteenth Division 
fought hard in crossing the Danube. The stones of the Shipka had 
already been splashed with the blood of Mirski’s gallant fellows of the 
Ninth Division. The total strength was not above thirteen thousand. 

The Turks began the attack on the 21st, pushing on directly up the 
steeps above the village of Shipka. The Bussian garrison in the 
works of the pass then’consisted of the Bnlgarian Legion and one 
regiment of the Ninth Division, both weakened by previous hard 
fighting, and probably reckoning little more than three thousand 
bayonets, with about forty cannon. No supports were nearer than 
Tirnova, a distance of forty miles. The garrison fought hard and 
hindered the Turks from gaining any material advantage, though they 
forced the outer line of the Bussian shelter trenches on the slopes below 


512 


PASS/A G THE BALKANS. 



Servian Staff Officers and Monks holding Council in a Monastery. 

the position of Mount Saint Nicholas, the highest peak of the Shipka 
crossing. The Russians had laid mines in front of their trenches, 
which were exploded just as the head of the Turkish assaulting parties 
were massed above them, and a large number of Moslems were blown 
up into the air in fragments. The loss to the Russians on the first 
day’s attack was but two hundred, chiefly of the Bulgarian Legion. 

On the second day, the 22d, the fighting was not heavy, the Turks 
being engaged in making a wide turning movement on the right and 
left flanks of the Russian position, and these attacks were developed 
with great fierceness and pertinacity. 

On the 23d the Turks assailed the Russian position on the front and 
flanks, and drove in the defenders from their outlying ground. The 
radical defects of the position became painfully apparent, its narrow¬ 
ness, its exposure, its liability to be outflanked and. isolated. For¬ 
tunately reinforcements had arrived, which averted the mischief which 
had otherwise imminently impended. There had come to him, swiftly 
inarching from Selvi, a brigade of the Ninth Division, commanded by 









































































PASS/AG THE BALKANS. 


513 


General Derotcninski, and this timely succor had been of material 
value to Stoletoff. The fight lasted all day, and at length, as the sun 
grew lower, they had so worked round on both the Russian flanks 
that it seemed as though the claws of the crab were about momentarily 
to close behind the Russians, and that the Turkish columns climbing 
the Russian ridge would give a hand to each other on the road in the 
rear of the Russian position. 

The moment was dramatic with an intensity to which the tameness 
of civilian life can furnish no parallel. The two Russian generals, 
expecting momentarily to be euvironed, had sent, between the closing 
claws of the crab, a last telegram to the Czar, telling what they 
expected, how they tried to prevent it, and how that, please God, 
driven into their positions and beset, they would hold these till rein¬ 
forcements should arrive. At all events, they and their men would 
hold their ground to the last drop of their blood. 

It was six o’clock, there was a lull in the fighting, of which the 
Russians could take no advantage, since the reserves were all engaged. 
The grimed, sun-blistered men, were beaten out with heat, fatigue, 
hunger, and thirst. There had been no cooking for three days, and 
there was no water within the Russian lines. The poor fellows lay 
panting on the bare ridge, reckless that it was swept by the Turkish 
rifle fire. Others doggedly fought on down among the rocks, forced 
to give ground, but doing so grimly and sourly. The cliffs and valleys 
send back the triumphant Turkish shouts of “Allah il Allah!” 

The two Russian generals were on the peak which the first position 
half encloses. Their glasses anxiously scanned the visible glimpses of 
the steep brown road leading up there from the Yantra valley, through 
thick copses of sombre green, and yet more sombre dark rock. Stole¬ 
toff cries aloud in sudden access of excitement, clutches his brother 
General by the arm, and points down the pass. The head of a long 
black column was plainly visible against the reddish-brown bed of the 
road. “ Now God be thanked!” says Stoletoff, solemnly. Bo + h generals 
bare their heads. The troops spring to their feet. They descry the 
long black serpent coiling up the brown road. Through the green 
copses a glint of sunshine flashes, banishes the sombreness, and dances 
on the glittering bayonets. Such a gust of Russian cheers whirls and 
eddies among the mountain tops that the Turkish war-cries are wholly 
drowned in the glad welcome which the Russian soldiers send to the 
33 


514 PASSJNG THE BALKANS. 

comrades coming to help them. Some time elapses. The head of the 
column draws near the Karaula, and is on the little plateau in front 
of the khan. But they are mounted men. The horses are easily 
discernible. Has Radetzky, then, been so left to himself, or so hard 
pushed, that he has sent cavalry to cope with infantry among the 
precipices of the Balkans? Be they what they may, they carry a 
tongue that can speak, for on the projection to the right of the khan 
a mountain battery has just come into action against the Turkish 
artillery on the wooded ridge, by the occupation of which the Turks 
are flanking the right of the Russian position. There are no riders 
on the horses now, and they are on their way down hill. But a 
column of Russian infantry are on the swift tramp up hill till they 
get within firing distance of the Turks on the right, and then they 
break, scatter, and from behind every stone and bush spurt white jets 
of smoke. 

It is a battalion of the Rifle Brigade, the brigade itself is not far 
behind, and it is a rifle brigade that needs no more fighting in the 
Balkans to link its name with the great mountain chain. It is the 
same rifle brigade which followed General Gourko in his victorious 
advance and checkered retreat. The brigade has marched thirty-five 
miles straight on end without cooking or sleeping, and now is in action 
without so much as a breathing halt. Such is the stuff of which 
thorough good soldiers are made. Their General, the gallant Tzwitinsky, 
accompanies them, and pushes an attack on the Turkish position on 
that wooded ridge on the Russian right. But Radetzky, who himself 
brought up the Tirailleurs, and so saved the day, marches on up the 
road with his staff at his back, runs the triple gauntlet of the Turkish 
rifle fire, and joins the other two Generals on the peak hard by the 
batteries of the first position. 

In the night a renewed attempt to carry^ the Turkish positions 
threatening the right flank could well be spared. But it was felt that 
there was no safety, far less elbow-room for the Russians until the 
Turks should be driven off that dominating wooded ridge looming so 
ugly on the right flank. The left flank, which the Turks assailed°the 
previous day, was now comparatively safe. So the next day’s fighting 
began at daybreak with a renewed attack of the Russians on the 
positions named. 

The fighting hung very much in the valley, and the reinforcements 




PASSING THE BALKANS. 


515 





Reinforcements Arriving to Barricade the Danube. 


of the Ninth Division sent down effected much perceptible good. 
About nine Dragimiroff arrived with two regiments of the Second 
Brigade of his own division, the Podolsk Regiment. He left in reserve 
near the khan the Jitomer Regiment, and marched up the road to the 
first position. There was no alternative but to traverse that fearfully- 
dangerous road, for the lower broken ground on its left was impracti¬ 
cable, and reported besides to be swarming with Bashi-Bazouks. The 
Jitomer men lost heavily while making this promenade, and having 
reached the peak, found no safe shelter, fbr the Turkish rifle fire was 
coming from two quarters simultaneously. So the infantry were 
stowed away till wanted in the ditch of the redoubt. 

The firing in the valley waxed and waned fitfully as the morning^ 
wore on to near noon. The Turks were apparently very strong in 
their wooded position, and there w T as an evident intention on their part 
to work round their left and edge in across the narrowed throat of the 
Valley towards the Russian rear. 













516 


PASSING THE BALKANS. 


About eleven the firing in the valley swelled in volume. It was 
clear that the battle waged to and fro, now the Russians, now the 
Turks, gaining ground occasionally. The Russians at some point 
would be hurled out of the wood altogether, the Turks following them 
eagerly to its edge, and lying down while pouring out a galling fire. 

There is something terrible in a fight in a wood. You can see 
nothing save an occasional flash of dark color among the sombre 
foliage, and the white clouds of smoke rising above it like soap- 
bubbles. Hoarse cries come back to you on the wind from out the 
mysterious inferno. How is it to go? Are the strong-backed Musco¬ 
vites, with these ready bayonet points of theirs to end the long drawn 
out fight with one short, impetuous, irresistible rush, or are the more 
lissom Turks to drive their northern adversaries out of the wood 
backwards into the fire-blistered open. Who can tell ? 

The Tirailleurs and Breanski Regiment are not making headway in 
their difficult enterprise of attacking direct in front the steep Turkish 
slope, with its advantage of wooded cover, although they have foiled 
the efforts of the Turks to work round by their own left into the 
Russian rear. It was determined at twelve o’clock to deliver a 
counter flank attack on the right edge of the Turkish ridge, simulta¬ 
neously with a renewed strenuous attack of the Tirailleurs and the 
men from below. The two battalions of the Jitomer Regiment, each 
leaving one company behind as supports, emerge from the partial 
shelter of the peak of the Russian first position, and march in 
company columns across the more level grass land at the head of the 
intervening valley. They have no great dip to traverse, and their 
way is good marching ground, but the Turkish mountain guns from 
the battery high upon the wooded peak of the Turkish position, are 
ready for them, as also is the Turkish infantry on the Turkish right 
edge of the ridge. The fire sweeps through them, and many a gallant 
fellow dyes the grass with his blood. But the battalions press steadib 
on, and dash into the wood at the double. The Russian artillery had 
done its best to prepare the way, for their battery on the peak had 
fired hard while they were crossing over, and a reserve battery near 
the khan down below had come into action. But now the artillery 
had to cease, for there was danger in blind firing into the wood when 
the Russians were in it. The arbitrament had to be left to rifle and 
bayonet. 


PASSING THE BALKANS. 


517 


The crisis of the battle had now arrived. It remained for the 
Russians to gaze into the perplexing mystery of forest and to hope 
fervently. The fighting of the infantry on the Turkish front and 
flank lasted for a long hour, and raged with great fury, but it was 
clear that the Russians were gradually gaining ground. The Turks 
were seen withdrawing their battery of mountain guns near the right 
flank, a sure sign that danger menaced it if it stayed longer. Then 
the left battery followed their example, a sure sign too that the 
Tirailleurs and Breanskis had gained the ridge on the Turkish left 
also. There remained but the central peak of the Turkish position. 

The fight was on the balance. The Russians as they stood could 
all but succeed, but not quite. It was an intensely exciting period, 
and Radetzky was equal to the occasion. We have mentioned that 
the Jitomer battalions had left two companies in reserve when they 
marched out from behind the peak. Radetzky took one of these 
companies; the Colonel of the Jitomer Regiment placed himself at the 
head of the other; and thus led, the two companies set forward to 
throw themselves into the fray. The Jitomers had been chafing at 
their inaction, but the leadership of their chief thrilled them with 
increased zeal. Their ringing cheers rose high above the rattle of 
musketry as they dashed across the grassy slope at the head of the 
valley, and precipitated themselves into the wood. 

Now there was a concentric rush on the peak. Its rude breastworks 
were surmounted there was some hot bayonet work, and then a 
tremendous volley of Russian hurrahs told that the Turkish ridge was 
cleared and the position won. This was at two o’clock. The Turks, 
however, are irrepressible. All day they had fought with stubborn 
valor, and would not yet own themselves beaten. They came on again 
out of the valley beyond their late ridge, and strove to retake it, but 
were severely repulsed. By three o’clock they had abandoned the 
effort for the day, and the fire had all but died out. 

During the following day, the fight raged with unabated fury. The 
arrival of Radetzky with reinforcements saved the situation for the 
moment and drove back the Turks, who were on the point of seizing 
the pass; but the Russian position was still most critical. The Turks 
had not only turned both the Russian flanks by seizing Berdek on the 
left and the mountains on the right, but had constructed a redoubt 
and planted a battery on the right which commanded the road leading 


518 


PASS TNG THE BALKANS. 


up to the pass. This gave them possession of the ridge running 
parallel to that up which the road winds fifteen hundred yards distant. 
The redoubt enfiladed the road in several places, and the Turkish 
infantry, by extending along this ridge, which is thickly wooded, 
could practically render the road impassable. 

General Radetzky had no sooner arrived than he began making 
dispositions in earnest. From the highest point of the pass there is a 
high short narrow ridge extending to the right at nearly right angles 
to the road. At a distance of half a mile it rises into a sharp peak, 
which was crowned by a Russian redoubt, effectually protecting the 
Russian batteries from that side. Half a mile further the ridge rises 
into another peak, which was crowned by the Turkish redoubt already 
spoken of, and it was the head of the ridge mentioned which curved 
round on the Russian right until parallel with the road, thus enabling 
the Turkish infantry to command it. 

The two peaks occupied by the Russian and Turkish redoubts were 
thickly wooded as well as the connecting ridge between. General 
Radetzky advanced his troops along this ridge under cover of the 
woods, and opened fire on the redoubt with two or three batteries. He 
at the same time sent troops across the deep hollow from the road to 
take the Turkish redoubt on the Gabrova side, by advancing up the 
steep mountain flank. Soon a terrible musketry fire told that the 
troops were in contact and the attack fairly begun; and for hours the 
mountains reechoed with the continuous roll of musketry and the 
thunder of cannon. 

The Russians advanced like Indians under cover of the trees, firing 
as they went. In a short time they had reached within fifty yards 
of the redoubt. Here they found obstacles which for the moment were 
quite insurmountable. The Turks had cut down the trees around the 
redoubt, making an abattis over which the Russians found it almost 
impossible to pass. They gathered around the edge under cover of 
the trees, and suddenly made a rush for it, but were driven back with 
fearful loss. The soldiers became entangled in the masses of brush¬ 
wood, trunks, and limbs of the trees over which they were obliged to 
scramble, while the Turks poured in a terrible fire upon them at this 
short distance, and mowed them down like grass. Of the first assault 
launched against the redoubt very few got back under cover to tell the 
tale. It was very evident that the assault under such conditions 


Tillage in the Southern Part of Russia. 


MASSING 1 HE BALKANS , 


519 


























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































520 


PASSING THE BALKANS. 


could not succeed. Only one battalion had been sent to attack. The 
force was insufficient, and of this one company sent to the assault was 
nearly destroyed. Reinforcements were sent by Radetzky. The at¬ 
tack began again with a heavy and well sustained musketry fire, 
before which the Turks, unable to maintain their ground, fell back 
slowly. The Russians followed, supported by their artillery, until 
they gained the crest of the ridge. Here a desperate fight took place, 
the Russians maintaining their fire, and the Tnrks slowly retiring 
before the assailants, who every moment received strong reinforcements, 
columns of infantry continually coming up. By nine o’clock at night 
the Russians were pushing forward in three attacking columns. The 
Turks fought hard, taking advantage of every bit of cover; but they 
were unable to hide themselves completely, owing to the bright 
moonlight, which rendered the landscape as clear as day. The 
Turks, consequently, were forced to continue their retreat up the hill 
until the summit alone was in their possession. At 11 p.m. the 
Russians made a grand charge, cheering loudly. They stormed the 
earthworks covering the battery, and almost effected an occupation 
of the hill; but at this juncture the Turkish officers called upon their 
men for a supreme effort. Forthwith arose loud cries of “ Allah 1” as 
the Turks rushed out of the side of the trenches in the rear of the bat¬ 
tery, and dashed upon their enemy with the bayonet, hurling the 
Russians down the slope and forcing them through the wood which 
covers the side of the hill. The air was rent with the shouts and 
shrieks of the soldiers, whilst the scene itself was perfectly indescrib¬ 
able. The fighting was simply terrific. The Russians fell back 
quickly, but receiving fresh reinforcements, renewed the attack at 
one o’clock in the morning, storming the height again, and reaching 
the summit, which they partly recovered. They were, however, driven 
back again. One hour later, at two o’clock, they repeated the attempt 
with the same result. After that they remained quiet until six o’clock, 
when, being heavily reinforced, they made a final attack. Thi*? time 
the Turks, being also reinforced, calmly awaited the onslaught. They 
allowed the Russians to reach the summit, and then charged them 
with the bayonet. The latter broke and fled down the hill and 
through the wood. Completely routed, they were pushed into the 
valley, the Turks pursuing them with the bayonet up to their forts, 
which immediately opened a heavy fire. The Russians receiving re- 


PASSING THE BALKANS. 


521 


inforceraents on Sunday morning, unsuccessfully attempted a final 
assault, after which they returned to their fortified works. The can¬ 
nonade continued all Sunday without appreciable result. 

On Tuesday morning, the 28th, Suleiman Pasha again attacked the 
Russian positions. The Turkish guns opened fire at ten o’clock, and 
the infantry at half-past ten. The artillery was effectively served, 
every shell falling into the Russian batteries. The infantry advanced 
so close to the Russian entrenchments that the Turks were compelled 
to suspend their artillery fire. The Muscovs were driven back at all 
points. The Turks fought magnificently, rushing up the mountains, 
and with loud cheers attacking their enemy with the bayonet. 

The Russians retired to an impregnable rock, defended by rifle pits, 
from which it was impossible to dislodge them, owing to the lateness 
of the hour and the fatigue the troops had suffered. During the night 
the Turks dragged up a number of guns, and on the next morning 
fighting commenced at daybreak, the Turks pushing forward still 
closer to the last of the Russian positions. Fighting was continued 
throughout the day, but nothing important occurred. 

At daybreak on Thursday the battle recommenced. The Turkish 
artillery fired with perfect precision, every shell falling into the Rus¬ 
sian rifle pits. At noon the Russian batteries in the centre were 
silenced, and shortly were abandoned, the men running away like 
sheep. The Turkish shells mowed down the retreating troops; but 
presently receiving heavy reinforcements, they returned and re-occu¬ 
pied their batteries and rifle pits. The Ottoman soldiers behaved like 
heroes, fighting hard with the bayonet; but being unsupported, the 
attacking column was obliged to fall back, after making a gallant 
resistance. They, however, retained most of the important heights 
they had previously captured. 

Subsequently the Turks pushed on near to the rear of the Russian 
position, whilst the latter attacked the Turkish left. Furious fighting 
ensued, and lasted all day. The Russians this time were repulsed 
with heavy loss. Their batteries in the centre were unable to fire at 
all, owing to the Turks having established a battery on the heights to 
the right. 





522 


OPERATIONS BEFORE PLEVNA . 


CHAPTER XXXI. 

OPERATIONS BEFORE PLEVNA. 

Simultaneously with Suleiman Pasha’s movement upon the 
Sliipka Pass, Osman Pasha moved up troops from Loftcha towards 
Selvi, on the way to Gabrova, by which town Suleiman Pasha, if suc¬ 
cessful, intended to descend upon Tirnova, and at noon on the 22d of 
August rifle firing began at the position occupied by the Russian 
advanced guards before Selvi. 

On the last day of August was fought the third battle of Plevna. 
The Turks, at eight o’clock in the morning, made a furious attack on 
the Russian positions, which resulted in one of the most hardly fought 
battles of the war. The extreme Russian front was about four or five 
miles from Poredin, and the battle was begun by an advance of the 
Turks upon Pelisa and Zgalince. A mile in front of the former vil¬ 
lage was a Russian redoubt, which the Turks took in their advance, 
lost, and retook very early in the day. Zgalince was the Russian cen¬ 
tre, having before it a redoubt and a series of trenches. The capture 
of the redoubt before Pelisat enabled the Turks to drive the Russian 
left back upon Pelisat, in front of which trenches had been dug and 
lined with troops. The Turks marched down the hill to the attack in 
loose order, without firing, and had accomplished half the distance 
under a destructive artillery fire, when a tremendous rifle fire was 
opened on them as they were advancing to the Russian trenches on the 
crest of the hill half way between Pelisat and Zgalince. As they 
attempted the ascent they were received with a storm of balls, under 
which they remained for fifteen or twenty minutes, during which time 
a fearful loss of life occurrrd. Before reaching the trenches they began 
to wither away, and retreated, carrying off the wounded. No sooner, 
however, had they withdrawn from the Russian fire than they formed 
and encountered it again. Their valor cost them dear, for many bodies 
of Turks ley within ten feet of the Russian trenches. The little slope, 
on the crest of which the trenches were situated, was literally covered 
with dead. As many as seven were counted on a space of not more 
than ten feet square. The battle here was terrible, but the Turks were 




Feeding Ptgeons in Constantinople. 


again repulsed, and again they retreated. A third time they advanced, 
although the Russian fire never slackened an instant, and the Russian 
line never wavered, while the Russian reserves were waiting behind, 
ready to advance at the least si<?n of instability. The scene of carnage 
was again repeated, but it only lasted a moment. The Turks, com¬ 
pletely broken, withdrew, sullenly firing, and taking time to carry off 
their wounded and many of their dead. Still they held the redoubt 
in front of Pelisat, upon which thev fell back apparently with the in¬ 
tention of hplding it, but thev were not allowed to remain long there. 
The attack on the redoubt in the Russian centre had been as unsuc¬ 
cessful as that on the Russian trenches on the left. The Russians pur¬ 
sued their enemy with a murderous fire, and then six companies 
attacked them with the bayonet and swept them out of the redoubt 
like a whirlwind. At four o’clock the Turks were in retreat every¬ 
where. The Russians occupied the whole of their first positions, besides 
pursuing the Turks a short distance with cavalry. The Russians were 
about twenty thousand. Their loss is estimated at five hundred, a^d 
the loss of the Turks at two thousand five hundred killed and wounded. 

On the 3d of September the Russians succeeded in retaking Loftcha 












































OPERATIONS BEFORE PLEVNA. 


524 

from Osman Pasha. The position was carried by assault by the troops 
under Generals Meretinsky and Skobeloff*. One of the first things 
which Osman Pasha did when he had taken Plevna was to make sure 
of Loftcha. The place is on the road from Plevna to Gabrova by 
Selvi, and it is in this southeastern direction that Osman Pasha steadily 
sought to advance. Loftcha is also on the line of road from Rahova 
or Nicopolis by Trojan to Philippopolis, south of the Balkans, and 
gives its name to the Pass. 

The fighting which resulted in the capture of this position by the 
Russians was, as might have been expected, of the severest description. 
The conflict raged for twelve hours among the rifle pits and redoubts 
with which the Turks had fortified their position. The Turks made a 
most obstinate resistance, and the loss on each side was great. The 
operation was important in many respects. It foreshadowed the kind 
of fighting which must take place at the attack on Plevna; it placed a 
strong force upon Osman Pasha’s right flank, and exposed^ to Russian 
attack the road from Plevna to Sofia by which Osman Pasha received 
his supplies, and which was also his best line of retreat. 

The great battle of Plevna, the one long expected, began on the 
morniug of Friday, September 7th, the Russians having decided, after 
the successful affair of Loftcha, no longer to delay attempting to taka 
Plevna. Since the last affair at Plevna the Russian army had re¬ 
mained idle in and around its positions in front of Poredin, Scalinka, 
Pelisat, and Bogot. The Turks, notwithstanding the energy displayed 
on the other side of the Balkans by Suleiman Pasha, apparently feared 
a trial of strength here. 

It therefore seemed a great relief to officers and men alike when it 
was known that something was to be done. For two or three days 
new life had been infused into the semi-dormant armies. Regiments 
and divisions quickly and mysteriously disappeared, and their places 
were rapidly occupied by new comers. Then on Sunday came the new 
Commander-in-Chief of the Plevna army, the dark, handsome, and 
courteous ruler of Roumania, Prince Charles Hohenzollern, with a 
brilliant escort. There seemed nothing further to wait for but the 
command to the new ally to commence the attack. The victory at 
Loftcha made this command possible, for with the left flank eomnletely 
developed, and the right flank occupied by the three Roumanian 
divisions, there was before Plevna with Trotaff’s original command ft 
fighting army of at least one hundred thousand men. 





OPERA 7 IONS BEFORE PLEVNA. 


525 


The battle commenced at seven o’clock in the morning, and raged 
ten hours, but was simply an artillery duel. The Turkish redoubt on 
the heights above Grivitza all day long received the fire of the Russian 
and Roumanian batteries from all sides of the plateaus commanding it. 

When the cannonade recommenced on Saturday morning, it was 
not easy at first sight to recognize that the Russians had gained any 
advantage by their profuse powder-burning of the day before. At 
first sight the parapet of the Grivitza redoubt had been a good deal 
jagged by the Russian shell fire; but, under cover of night, all its 
defects had been made good, and it looked as trim as if never a shot 
had been fired at it. But the Russians had been at work also during 
the night. They had gained a large slice of ground in the direction 
of Grivitza, that is, their working parties had been pushed forward 
in the fortunate darkness, and a battery of siege guns had been built 
and armed on an elevation comparatively close to and overhanging 
Grivitza village, and within easy battery range of the irrepressible 
redoubt. 

As soon as the sun rose that battery came into action against the 
redoubt, supported by isolated big guns. Away to the right a battery 
of siege guns sent its fire sweeping down the valley and over traversing 
undulations into what in the previous battle was called the Turkish 
first position, the redoubt and entrenched village in the central swell. 
This position was also receiving the fire of two or three batteries of 
field guns stationed on the heights beyond Radisovo, the height where 
Schackoskoy’s cannon stood so long. The redoubt could not reply to 
the siege battery, the range of the latter being too long, so it accepted 
punishment from that quarter, and pounded away ii^reply to the field 
batteries on the ridge. 

Early on the morning of the 9th, the furious bombardment was 
renewed. On the top of the ridge which formed the Turkish first line, 
every battery was engaged, the Russians having during the night 
brought up heavier guns and placed them nearer. They had also 
pushed between the Turkish position and the Danube, getting into a 
northeasterly direction and opening upon the flank of the second and 
third line a heavy shell fire. 

As midday approached special orders were given to the Turkish 
redoubts only to fire when necessary. Osman Pasha had hoped by 
this means to make the Russians think that they had nearly silenced 





526 


OPERATIONS BEFORE PLEVNA. 


the Turkish attack, and that they might now safely make an assault 
with infantry. Still, one and two o’clock struck, and the bombard¬ 
ment of the Turkish position continued, till, about a quarter to three, 
a little dust was observed on the Orkhonie road, and then scouts came 
flying in with the news that the enemy was advancing up the valley 
of the Yid. A few minutes later and six or eight battalions of infantry, 
several guns and two regiments of cavalry were seen coming over the 
plain. Simultaneously, over the northeast point of the position—that 
is to say, a little in rear of the third line of defence—an infantry force 
of the Russians was reported, which was'soon seen descending down 
the broad Loftcha road, which intersects the hill just above Plevna. 
The great battle of Plevna seemed to be begun. Osman Pasha’s 
dispositions were rapidly made. Moving three battalions which bivou¬ 
acked just above the towm on to the road by the river, he ordered 
about one thousand irregular cavalry, three or four hundred Circassians 
and a couple of guns to precede them, and find out what the enemy 
was made of. At the same time he took five battalions from the 
reserve in the headquarters camp, and moved them into a clump of 
trees at one end of the valley, with two more guns. The whole opera¬ 
tion was very quietly effected. The Russian cavalry advanced in a 
long line extending nearly across the plain, having very few scouts in 
front and halting very frequently. The infantry, in columns of 
battalions, followed, four battalions in line, three in support, and one 
in reserve. A half-battery.of guns was well advanced; another half- 
kept in rear. As they came over the plain, the sun burning brightly, 
every bayonet and every lance could be seen. The whole movement 
had all the appearance of a peaceful review. For the purpose of 
advancing upon the enemy thus menacing them, the Turks had a 
little pathway close under the left ridge by which their troops could 
go till they were nearly upon the Russians, and along this path the 
cavalry, two guns, and three battalions noiselessly went, while those 
in the clump of trees got ready to advance quickly at a moment’s 
notice. On came the Russians quite comfortably; they seemed to be 
walking heedlessly into the trap prepared for them, and would soon 
be quite close by, when some Russ, more wary than his comrades, 
suspected something; for they all on a sudden wheeled round and 
began marching away much more quickly that they had come. With 
a cry of disappointment the Turkish soldiers begged to be allowed to 


OPERATIONS BEFORE PLEVNA . 


627 



Mehemet Murad, the new Sultan of Turkey. 


attack, and the word to advance was immediately given, hut the 
harder they marched the harder their enemy went, but they presently 
overtook them, attacked them in line, and, after a fight of about half 
an hour, gave them a severe repulse. 






528 


OPERATIONS BEFORE PLEVNA . 


While this skirmish was going on, a descent was made by the 
Russians in force from the Loftcha road. To meet this new attack 
Osman Pasha moved forward immediately four battalions into the 
maize field through which the Russians would come; four more 
battalions, with four guns, were advanced to a hill which imme¬ 
diately faced the Russian force. On a ridge which flanks the road 
which the Russians had taken, two battalions from redoubts placed 
there, were moved into a breastwork about six hundred yards away 
from the Muscovs, and two more battalions were brought down upon 
their left flank. The action was not long in beginning. Pushing 
through the maize with great rapidity, the Russians were received w„ith 
a smart fire from every direction. From the breastwork on the right 
and the ridge on the left, from the hill in front, and from all the 
redoubts near, such a storm of shot and shell fell in upon them that 
in a quarter of an hour the Turks began to shout “Allah!” and the 
Russians commenced to run. Over the hill came more battalions, 
with a thundering fire, while fresh field guns were unmasked and 
opened upon the Turkish position. Then the fight opened again in 
earnest. The first and second battalions fell back, and the two batta¬ 
lions that had been behind the breastwork went down to their assist¬ 
ance; more troops pushing into the maize, w T hile more guns went 
into action, and the firing in volleys became continuous. It was 
clear that a serious conflict had begun. With his usual coolness, 
Osman Pasha ordered the battalions on the Russian right flank to go 
into action, holding only as reserve the two on the hill immediately 
in front of them. Descending the height in open order, they too crept 
into the long grass and maize, and advanced as rapidly as possible 
under a shell fire of terrific power, the missiles plunging about in 
such a manner that those who did not get hit by the shells themselves 
got plentifully sprinkled with stones and earth. It was simply a 
desperate struggle; for the Russians having the top of the hill, while 
the Turks only had the bottom and the sides, and so distinct an 
advantage over the latter that it was, to all intents and purposes, 
a Turkish and not a Russian attack at all. However, the Ottomans 
went forward shouting “ Allah!” with a great cheer every few minutes, 
and thus, simultaneously cheering each other and worrying their enemy, 
Adil Pasha pushed forward the Turkish right, all in open'order, while 
Osman Pasha kept the centre a little back and worked the left forward, 



OPERATIONS BEFORE PLEVNA. 


529 


so as to get their enemy within the fire of the semicircle. By half-past 
five the Turkish force were half way up the hill, the Russians con¬ 
stantly giving ground, but being continually reinforced, while Osman 
never so much as called on another soldier to aid him. The fight 
continued, the Turks slowly pushing up the hill, but cheering whenever 
they gained an advantage. A quarter-past six o’clock, and still only 
three-quarters up the hill. Another cheer and a little rush; and then 
more heavy firing for ten minutes, the soldiers all the while pressing 
through the maize. At last they have reached the end of the corn, 
and the Russians are exposed fully to view. “Charge!” says Osman 
Pasha, and all go forward. The Russians run. “ Go in pursuit!” 
is the command to some Circassian cavalry who are close at hand, 
and these, too, rush up the hill. It is now a quarter to seven, and 
the last three volleys are being fired; the last, for the Russians, many 
of them falling from the effects of the Turkish bullets, are doing their 
best to get away. Then a loud cheer; two more shots from the 
batteries, and all is over. The Turkish troops move on to the top of 
the hill—the whole side strewed thickly with Russian bodies. In 
five minutes all is quiet, for there is even a lull in the bombardment. 

The next day, Monday, wore away without special incident. On 
Tuesday the long expected grand attack was made. From daybreak 
the Turkish position was assailed with a heavy cannonade on all sides, 
which continued until midday, when great masses of Russians were 
seen descending the slopes near the Loftcha road, exactly above the 
town of Plevna, and approaching the hill which forms the third line 
of the Ottoman defence facing northward. Osman Pasha was ready 
for the assault. Without any delay his preparations were carried 
out, the redoubts were manned, and the trenches on either side 
occupied with troops, while reserves were disposed in the best positions 
for assisting the defence wherever it might prove weakest. On the 
southern side, the task which the Russians had before them was to 
take three redoubts crowning the top of a high ridge. On the 
northern side the work cut out was to storm another high ridge 
similarly defended by five redoubts, also connected by entrenchments. 
One great advantage which Osman Pasha possessed was the situation 
of his headquarter camp, which occupied a central position, enabling 
him to take in at one view the entire field of operations and to use 
his reserves in the most judicious manner. 

34 



















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































OPERATIONS BEFORE PLEVNA. 


531 


We will describe the Loftcha attack first. The Russians advanced 
in heavy masses of close column of battalions. The Turks reserved 
their fire till the leading masses of the foe drew near enough for it to 
tell with deadliest effect. Then opened above the heads of the defenders 
in the trenches a more than ever terrific cannonade, under which the 
Russians were seen to desperately quicken their step, advancing in open 
order, while their men were falling singly and in groups all over the 
fiery field. Now also quickened the dreadful roll of the Turkish in¬ 
fantry fire, bursting forth from the redoubts and entrenchments. 
While these volleys swept backwards and forwards all along the 
trenches, the assailants went down by hundreds; but as fast as the 
advanced files thus melted away swarms of fresh men poured up from 
the rear. They only served to feed, however, the awful harvest of 
death; yet, still pushing forward, the mass of them at last appeared to 
be gaining ground. 

Reinforcements were now also freely pushed up on the Turkish side, 
with the effect of feeding afresh the tremendous rifle fire maintained in 
the trenches. The nearer approach of the Russian swarm of stormers 
to that white and red line of flame and smoke, and the bursting forth, 
as it seemed, everywhere of redoubled volleys, made this moment 
supreme. Clouds of Russians were now quite close to the edges of the 
trenches, near enough, indeed, to enable the officers who led them to 
make a visible employment of the revolvers which they brandished. 
Amid ever-increasing slaughter on both sides, the Turkish line once 
again received reinforcements, and then at a sudden signal—raising a 
tremendous shout of “Allah, Allah!” and discharging simultaneous 
volleys—they leaped over the lips of the trenches and hurled them¬ 
selves with steel and clubbed muskets upon the Russians. These latter 
yielded and ran, for the shock was intolerable, the ground behind 
them being soon literally covered with their dead and wounded as 
they w T ent down under this onset, or were shelled from the redoubts 
while flying across the valley to the wooded hill opposite. 

Meanwhile the attack on the northern side of Osman Pasha’s great 
stronghold was developing itself. About three o’clock in the afternoon 
Adil Pasha’s preparations for resistance there had been pretty well 
completed. The tripled demilunes guarding the hills had been filled 
to their utmost possible capacity with ranks of concealed men; a 
double quantity of cartridges had been served out to every soldier; 


532 


OPERATIONS BEFORE PLEVNA. 


and the batteries above were all lavishly replenished with ammunition. 
The Russians now came on. They were greatly exposed during their 
passage of the hollows to the Ottoman shell fire, which from the first 
was already costing their advance dearly. 

The Russians gradually advanced, keeping their order, till shortly 
before four o’clock the word was given them all of a sudden to make 
a grand rush upon the trenches. It was a splendid and thrilling, but 
most terrible sight to see the long lines topping the brow and breaking 
into the critical impulse of the charge. As the Russians thus accele¬ 
rated their pace the Turks in the trenches opened upon them a 
perfectly consuming fire from their rifles, the effect of which was 
literally to wipe away line after line of those doomed Muscovites as 
they successively appeared upon the ridge of the hill. Each successive 
Russian battalion, as it bravely crowned that fatal plateau, was mown 
down by the deadly fire as ridges of wheat go prone to the earth 
before reapers. Again and again, it seemed that scarcely a single man 
stood up alive after the thunder and lightning of one of these tempests 
of bullets. The Turkish officers, meantime, with a calmness worthy 
of the cool and sturdy stuff that they commanded, directed their men 
to load and fire as steadily as possible, and to hold the muzzles of 
their rifles low down at the waistbelts of their foe. _ 

Nevertheless, though the leading Russian files thus faded away from 
the front of the Turkish trenches, the same tactics of reinforcements 
were being pursued; and, augmented by ever fresh bodies of men, 
another and another attack was delivered on the northern face. The 
results were always exactly the same. Their devotion and desperation 
could not carry them past the edge of those clouds of smoke; and the 
moment came here also when the Turks, with a loud cry of victory, 
dashed outside their cover and furiously swept the remnants of their 
enemy from the hill, scarcely numbering now more than a few hun¬ 
dreds of survivors. 

After this exciting business there came upon the scene of battle for 
some time a period of comparative peace, interrupted only by sullen 
cannon-firing. This lasted for a certain interval, when by-and-by 
news was brought to the outlook, where Osman Pasha watched the 
whole warlike scene, that the Russians were advancing yet again on 
the Loftcha side. Once more, therefore, the trenches were silently 
filled up on the threatened face, and this time the assault of the Rus- 








OPERATIONS BEFORE PLEVNA. 


533 



Native Turkish Troops Foraging on the March. 


sians proved, if possible, more than ever furious, and was supported in 
greater numbers than before. A flank attack on the western side of 
the ridge was moreover combined with the movement; the object being 
to seize some outlying redoubts, which were the weakest part of the 
Turkish position, because the approaches to them were covered for 
some distance by a low scrub. This part of the ground had been 
entrusted to Bashi-Bazouks, while the Turkish regulars manned the 
redoubts and entrenchments beyond. The Russians moved up a whole 
division fof this part of their effort, advancing rapidly on the front 
and flank of the outlying redoubts. They were met, as heretofore, by 
a heavy shell fire from the batteries, and a well-sustained storm of rifle 
bullets from the pits; and, although some of Osman’s troops engaged 
were now grievously fatigued, the attack upon the front of the trenches 
was again and again repulsed with fearful slaughter, the Turks cheer¬ 
ing loudly as the evening slowly fell. Suddenly the Bashi-Bazouks, 
being unexpectedly assailed, fled in a panic, leaving the important 
point they held in the hands of the Russians, who, pouring after them 



















534 


OPERATIONS BEFORE PLEVNA. 


in enormous numbers, rushed upon and into the redoubt higher up, 
which the Turks, half surprised, were unable to deny to them, and 
consequently retired or fell, fighting hand-to-hand, the assailants 
swarming in and extending their temporary advantage afterwards to 
the possession of two other redoubts, which were seized and filled with 
their men. 

All night long a desultory struggle went on. "Wednesday morning 
dawned, and found the Turkish commander gloomy and taciturn, but 
wrathfully determined to recover the compromised points of his defence. 
Orders were given by Osman to Emin and Thahir Pashas to attack 
the lost hillock with twenty battalions. The fight began with the very 
first clear streaks of light in the sky, the Russians resisting all the 
more desperately because during the night they had managed to throw 
up rough ramparts of earth in reverse of the captured position. The 
Turks, nevertheless, gradually 1-ecovered line after line of the entrench¬ 
ments, till at midday they were well lodged near the top of the 
eminence, the Russians still holding its wooded shoulder and also the 
redoubts on the ridges, in which spots the headquarter camp and other 
neighboring batteries fiercely shelled them with a precision costing 
them terrible sacrifices. 

At two o’clock the Ottoman soldiers had got as far as the scrub, 
and fresh troops were being sent round to help them by attacking the 
Russians in the rear. The Muscovites, also largely reinforced, once 
and again drove back from the disputed redoubts their sturdy antag¬ 
onists, who, however, on each occasion retired only to return with 
fresh cheers, till they stood firm at last under cover of the wood. At 
three o’clock the ferocious combat reached its culminating point, for 
stoutly as the Russians tried to hold their conquest, they were at last 
hurled out beyond rampart and trench, doing the utmost that courage 
permitted, but utterly unable to resist the indomitable resolve of the 
Osmanlis. About this time also two fresh Turkish battalions came up 
in rear of the wood, and when the bugles sounded clear above the 
thunder of battle the notes of the Turkish charge—that never-to-be- 
forgotten cry of “Allah!” “Allah!”—echoed again along all the line, 
and Osman’s men, sweeping forward at the top of their speed, thrust 
down the hill the last throngs of the lingering Russian resistance. The 
soldiers of the Czar now flung away their arms and scampered down 
the incline, leaving their guns and everything belonging to them in 


OPERA TIONS' BEFORE RLE VNA. 


535 


L 

the battery. The Turks, in the pursuit, strewed the glacis of the 
redoubts with flying Russians, and it seemed that those who escaped 
were sated chiefly by the energetic fire opened from the Russian 
batteries. 

Thus Wednesday saw almost all the slight losses of Tuesday’s fight¬ 
ing triumphantly repaired. On Thursday, and also during part of 
Friday, the Russians feebly and, as it were, formally bombarded the 
Turkish headquarter camp from the northeastern side, without any 

result. 



Bombardment of Rustciiuk—Scene in a Turkish Military Hospital. 



































536 


AROUND KARS. 


CHAPTER XXXII. 

AROUND KARS. 

We left the contending armies in Asia after the engagement of the 
22d of June, in which Mukhtar Pasha avenged the defeat of Delibaba 
by turning on the Russian left wing. On Sunday and Monday, June 
24th and 25th, the Muscovites made a desperate attack on Kars. 

Fort Tachmos is one of the strongest and best-constructed tabias 
protecting Kars. It commands the road to Erzeroum, and connects 
its fire with that of the outer entrenchments on the west'side of the 
town. To reduce this stronghold, in the first place, the Russians had 
concentrated their efforts during the progress of the siege. On the 
days named above, they renewed their attempts, w T ith increased forces, 
to storm it. The Turks received each assault with equal determina¬ 
tion, repelling the besiegers with heavy loss. 

Finally, on the 26th, the supreme effort was made w r ith no better 
success. The Turks, availing themselves of the opportunity afforded 
by the serious repulse they had inflicted, made a sortie in great force, 
charging the Muscovites, whilst from the entrenchments and fort a 
destructive fire was poured out on the retreating Russians. 

Disorganized by the impetuous sortie before they had time to recover 
from the effects of the repulse, and subjected to the raking cannonade 
of the fort and batteries, the Russians made a hasty escape by the 
Erzeroum road, the pursuit having terminated within range of the 
heavy guns. 

Meanwhile, at Zivin, a general action was being fought between 
General Loris Mclikoff and Ismail Pasha. A most obstinate combat 
was here maintained, with, for a time, doubtful results to either side. 
The latter, however, ultimately out-manoeuvred his opponent, and, 
attacking him with great vigor, accomplished his defeat, inflicting 
losses estimated at four thousand men, including two generals of 
division. On the 29th, under the cover of darkness, General Melikoff 
made a precipitate retreat, abandoning his tents, ammunition, and a 
large quantity of provisions. 

Saturday and Sunday following, the Turkish right wing took the 




AROUND KARS. 


537 


offensive against the other Russian force at Karakilissa. Here the 
latter made a desperate effort to maintain its ground, being entrenched 
in this place. Sunday afternoon the Ottoman commander, under 
cover of a heavy artillery fire, threw his entire force against the Rus¬ 
sian position, moving double-quick to the attack with the cry of 
“ Allah!” So impetuous, and apparently unexpected, was the charge 
of the Turks, that the defenders, .terror-stricken, ceased firing, and 
decamped, leaving their dead and wounded, and many actually threw 
away their arms. They were hotly pursued, and lost many prisoners. 
During Sunday night they continued their retreat, having burnt their 
tents. They threw rifles, ammunition, and everything that could 
encumber them iuto the river, exploded their field magazines, and left 
behind them large stores of provisions, including flour, biscuit, and 
other eatables. 

The Circassians followed closely on the flank of the retreating 
army, capturing the stragglers and inflicting some additional losses. 
Faick Pasha, coming from Bayazid, tried to intercept this Russian 
column; whilst Moussa Pasha followed closely on the Russian left 
flank; and Mukhtar Pasha pursued the forces in his front into the 
very plains of Kars. 

On the 6th of July, Mukhtar Pasha, having entrenched the posi¬ 
tions occupied by his army, effected a junction with Kars, after it had 
been bombarded for nineteen days. 

During this period the Russians testified their ardor by launching 
each day about two thousand balls upon the town; but with the 
exception of missiles discharged from the heavy Krupp guns, they 
appear not to have done a great deal of damage, owing, it is said, to 
the rapidity with which the Turkish gunners interrupted the Russian 
aim. A tempest of shot and shell flew completely over the citadel 
into the cemetery at the back, and although heaps of dust thrown up 
into the air, and loud explosions constantly disturbed the ground at 
the foot of the hill crowned by the “ keep,” very little damage was 
done to the latter place. Notwithstanding the length of the siege, 
together with the violence of the cannonade, the loss in soldiers as 
well as in civilians, counting both killed and wounded, only amounted 
to a hundred and thirty, among whom were a few women; and it is 
likely that if the Russians had continued the siege for twenty days 
more a want of ammunition would have silenced the Krupp guns. 


538 


AROUND KARS. 










































AROUND KARS. 


539 


If, when the frontier was passed on April 24th, the Muscovites had 
acted vigorously and had made a sudden assault upon the town of 
Kars, it is probable that, with no greater loss than that of about two 
thousand men, they might have become masters of it; and had such a 
shock to the Turkish power in Armenia been suddenly dealt, it seems 
equally certain, and particularly as only six heavy siege-train guns 
had then been got into position for its protection, that the town of 
Erzeroum might have been taken with comparatively little difficulty. 
It is evident that the calculations of Guyman, chief of the staff—based 
on the supposition that Kars could not hold out for twenty days—by 
deceiving Melikoff, caused him to alter his original idea of a rapid 
advance on Erzeroum; and afterwards—to his great astonishment— 
discovering the courage and obstinacy with which Turks can defend 
fortifications, as well as the admirable manner in which they worked 
and stood to their guns, he made a dash on Ardahan, the small and 
feebly commanded garrison of which rendered it a very easy prey. 
As most of the Russian spies were Armenians, hating the Turks with 
extreme violence, and longing for their destruction, they, in order to 
bring about as quickly as possible the consummation of their hopes, 
and perhaps, like most men, expressing their wishes, under the guise 
of an opinion, declared that the garrison, being on half rations, could 
not possibly hold out for a period of even two months, although it 
afterward appeared that nothing could be further from the truth, and 
that the garrison as well as the inhabitants suffered no greater priva¬ 
tions than such as are usual in Armenia. These rumors were even 
believed bv the Turks themselves, notwithstanding the probability of 
the town, being provided with an abundance, holding out a fair 
prospect of resistance till the end of the campaign. The town might, 
however, have easily been kept in check by a small blockading force, 
and even if twenty days after his invasion Melikoff had moved dili¬ 
gently through the Soghanli Dagh he might have confined the Mushir 
in the Valley of Bardegand. As the latter only received his scanty 
supply of provisions from day to day the Russian would have obliged 
him, in spite of his entrenched position, to capitulate in about a fort-^, 
night. For upwards of two months the operations of the Muscovites 
were conducted with slothfulness and timidity; but if, on the other 
hand, the Turks cannot be applauded for either foresight or organiza¬ 
tion, the manner in which they hurried tribes of barbarians into the 


540 


AROUND KARS . 


field is an evidence of the great vitality of that martial nation which, 
if directed by a body of efficient officers, would astonish with the 
rapidity and brilliancy of their exploits all those people who look 
upon the Ottomans as quite effete. 

The march of General Tergukasoff towards the Russian frontier was 
embarrassed by the task of protectiug three thousand Armenian families 
who were fleeing from the valley of Alashgerd to escape the cruelties 
of the Bashi-Bazouks and Kurds who were massacreing the inhabitants 
of whole villages; but at length he succeeded iu placing these fugitives 
with his sick and the wounded in safety. While thus encumbered he 
was unable freely to repel the attack to which he was subjected, 
and his rear was much harassed. Relieved at length of anxiety on 
account of these proteges , he led his little army to Igdyr, where he 
arrived on th 8th at five p.m. Having completed the renewal of his 
supplies at Igdyr, and learned there that General Kalbolaikan had 
started on the 7th for Bayazid, he set out with his detachment to 
follow him. At eight o’clock on the morning of the 10th, having with 
him eight battalions of infantry, twenty-four guns, fifteen sotnias of 
Cossacks, and four squadrons of cavalry, he attacked a Corps of thirteen 
thousand men which was besieging the citadel of Bayazid. After eight 
hours cannonade the Russian troops took by storm the heights com¬ 
manding the town, defeated the enemy, and put them to flight. Four 
cannon were captured, with a large quantity of ammunition aud 
provisions. The garrison, with the sick and wounded, were taken 
away, and the Turks made a hasty retreat. 

On the 19th of August the Russians advanced in force from the 
village of Suediklar against the right of Mukhtar Pasha’s positions, 
their intention apparently being to recommence the invasion of Asia as 
before. They struck their tents, broke up their camp, and prepared 
in every way for an advance. The strength of the Russian force was 
forty battalions of infantry, ten regiments of cavalry, and ninety-six 
guns. The battle was begun at seven o’clock in the morning by three 
divisions of infantry, supported by thirty-six guns, attacking the 
Turkish entrenched position at Nakhirdji, a kind of redoubt faced by 
semicircular trenches. The Russian commander did not expose their 
troops in the usual manner, and apparently feared to send the infantry 
up the hill in anything like dense masses, owing to the destructive fire 
of the Turkish artillery. Reinforced by another division, Mukhtar 


Final Charge of thr Turkish Cavalry at the Battle of Kackljevo 


AROUND KARS. 


541 


































542 


AROUND KARS. 


Pasha began a slight forward movement, and his infan/ry pushing 
down hill somewhat rapidly, endeavored to attack the Russians, 
who however, withdrew, and after midday ceased firing, leaving the 
the Turks at the foot of the slope. 

Some time afterwards, however, another strong Russian division 
was seen advancing on the Turkish extreme left. Mukhtar Pasha 
immediately ordered forward reinforcements from the centre, which 
were sent to the aid of Hussein Pasha. Haddij’s division being already 
in possession of the hill, two divisions under the command of Mustapha 
Tewfik and the force under Rescind Pasha were detailed to support 
him, whilst Chevket Pasha, with one brigade, made a detour for the 
purpose of operating on the Russian rear. Meanwhile the Russians 
pushed over the valley in front of the Turkish position, keeping both 
men and guns well under cover and advancing rapidly. The Turks 
remaining in the trenches opened a heavy fire upon the approaching 
troops, who once more hesitated to commence the attack, although 
frequently dense masses of soldiery could be indistinctly seen hidden 
away in the hollows of their ground. At eleven o’clock, however, 
the battle was raging simultaneously along the whole line with the 
exception of the centre, the two hills right and left being subjected to 
a tremendous artillery fire. About mid-day, just as the Russian left 
ceased firing, the Turkish left advanced to attack the Russian right, 
the son of Schamyl with the Circassians meanwhile threatening the 
Russian extreme flank. The Turks moved forward cautiously, but, 
firing rapidly, drove their foe from the foot of the hill across the 
valley, the Circassians making frequent charges, tending greatly to 
the demoralization of the Muscov troops. At two o’clock in the after¬ 
noon the Turkish right also made a forward movement, and, no 
resistance being offered, the Turkish left continued to advance, having 
in the meantime been heavily reinforced by artillery. Presently the 
firing of distant guns on the extreme left announced that Chevket 
Pasha had succeeded in reaching the rear of the Russians. The whole 
Turkish line then pressed forward, cheering loudly, but still keeping 
well under cover; whilst the Circassians made continued charges. 
Before this demonstration, the Russians fell back rapidly, yet in good 
order. They were utterly unable to hold any position for many 
minutes together; and the Turkish artillery, getting a view of the 
retreating masses of infantry, poured in a heavy fire, before which 


AROUND KARS. 


543 


the Russians retired as quickly as possible, all the while being con¬ 
siderably harassed by Schamyl’s son and Chevket Pasha. At six 
o’clock the fight ended, the Turks holding the ground, upon which 
the Russians left about one thousand bodies. 

At dawn on the 25th, Mukhtar Pasha, with all his forces, attacked 
the positions held by General Loris Melikoff. Previous to the engage¬ 
ment the Turkish position extended from the neighborhood of the 
ancient city of Ani, now dismal ruins, on the Arpatchy River, to the 
vicinity of Kars, from which fortress the supplies were drawn. The 
main force, however, leaned its left wing on the mountain branch 
ending in a high hill called the Yaghuy. On another steep hill, the 
Kizil Tepe (Red Hill), which, in an entirely isolated position, towers 
above the Kuruk Dara plateaux, almost in the very centre of the 
military positions, the Russian Commander-in-Chief, General Loris 
Melikoff, had established his headquarters. It was usually occupied 
by a single battalion and four field pieces, and was thus considered as 
almost impregnable. On account of its commanding position over the 
surrounding flats and undulating grounds it was well worth particular 
attention, especially as the camp at Bashkladnyklar, which was under 
the fire of its artillery, was only about two miles distant from its 
northern slope. 

The time selected for the attack was a bright moonlight night. The 
mountains and plains were almost as distinctly visible as in daytime. 
Availing themselves of this circumstance, at two or three o’clock in 
the morning on the 25th of August, about seven thousand lurks crept 
stealthily, in a compact, noiseless mass, through a dark, deep ravine, 
without being observed by the pickets and patrols, till they arrived 
at the very foot of the Kizil Tepe. Here deploying, they made a 
sudden rush, savagely yelling their “Allah-il-Allah!’ 1 on the eight 
Russian companies which were stationed on the summit. These men, 
though surprised, defended themselves courageously at the point of 
the bayonet without yielding an inch. Hundreds of Turks who a few 
seconds before dashed fiercely on with the rifle in their hands fell to 
rise no more. At last, however, as the fast increasing force threatened 
to outflank and envelope them altogether, the Russians were compelled 
to retreat to the camp at Bashkladnyklar, protecting and dragging 
away their four cannons. Here the alarm was given, and, as quickly 
as possible, infantry and dragoons marched to the rescue, and stormed 


544 


AROUND KARS. 






































































































































































































































































































































































































































































AROUND KARS. 


545 


the hill with dauntless courage, in the hope of recovering it in the way 
in which it had been lost. In spite of their heroic efforts, however, 
they were repeatedly repulsed by overwhelming numbers. The whole 
hill was like a beehive, thickly thronged with enemies, and had they 
persisted in their gallant attempt they would have all been exter¬ 
minated. In the meanwhile the principal Russian forces encamped at 
Kuruk Dara had been roused, and battalions, squadrons, batteries, 
with ammunition carts and red cross wagons behind, hastened in long 
columns into the field. The Kizil Tepe was now encircled, top and 
bottom, by two girdles of smoke and flames. On its rocky bastion-like 
summit, stood thickly crowded Turkish soldiers, under the cover of 
ihe opposite slope, and fired their rifles, aiming down into a ravine 
across which the Russian Tiflis regiment struggled heroically, but in 
vain, to reconquer the lost position. The very steep, rocky slope of 
the hill on that side rendered this task almost impossible. In the 
Turkish ranks could be seen an imaum, with turban and flowing gown 
lifting his hands in fanatical ecstacy above the devoted children of the 
faith, exciting them to withstand the arms of the Moscow giaour, in 
Allah’s and the Prophet’s name. On some other parts of the battle¬ 
field Mohammedan priests were equally observed in the foremost lines, 
animating timid recruits by fervent words of faith. One of these 
priests was shot. 

The Turks evidently meant to crush their weakened adversaries by 
a general attack, and so they employed all imaginable means to secure 
success. Many battalions, emerging by scores together, and thousands 
of irregular horsemen, descended the mountain and were brought at 
once into action. The whole long line—twelve miles from the 
neighborhood of Ani up to the Kaback Tepe, near to the road to Kars, 
was swarming with Mussulmans. On the summit of that eminence, 
situated two miles to the right of the Yaghny Hill, three new bat¬ 
talions and clusters of cavalry appeared, with the view to outflank the 
Russian army and capture their camp at Kuruk Dara. Their general 
advance, however, was thoroughly checked as soon as the Russian 
columns of combined arms, the battalions, squadrons and batteries 
which left the camp, had the necessary time to march to the encounter. 
In the Russian order of battle the extreme left was held by two 
regiments of dragoons, then followed the remaining brigade of General 
Devel’s division, and next to it in the centre Colonel Komaroflf’s five 
35 




546 


AROUND KARS. 


valiant battalions which have seen hard work ever since Ardahan. 
Connected with them and directing its front line against the Yaghny 
hills, the division of grenadiers operated with one of its brigades while 
the other remained in reserve. The extreme right was secured by 
three regiments of Caucasian regular Cossack cavalry and their horse 
artillery. Numerous troops besides protected the camp. It took some 
hours before those masses were all able to meet the Turkish lines, on 
account of the considerable distance which originally separated the 
combatants. In the meantime the now exposed camp at Bashklad- 
nyklar was broken up. Thousands of carts and wagons transported 
the tents and the baggage to Kuruk Dara. Again and again the Rus¬ 
sians tried to reconquer the Kizil Tepe by storming, while shells and 
shrapnells were showered upon its ridge, but again and again they 
were repelled by the defenders, who stood, shoulder to shoulder, behind 
its rocky edge. On a sudden, shortly after the last assault, which was 
supported and followed by the play of two batteries, thick white smoke 
rose on the summit, and a long flame carried it to the skies. Frag¬ 
ments of carriages and limbs of horses and men were scattered in all 
directions, or flew up to the clouds It was clear that stores of 
ammunition or a powder cart had exploded, ignited by a Russian shell. 
A short time afterwards, as regiment after regiment entered succes¬ 
sively the line of battle, the roar of the fighting extended gradually 
from the Russian left to the centre. It was, however, obvious that 
before the Yaghny the fate of the day was to be decided, because from 
that part of their position only the Turks might have had a chance 
of forcing the camp, as it is quite open and unprotected in that direc¬ 
tion. Yet long ere the Tirailleurs there had mingled their fire with 
the boom of their cannon and the cracking of their shells, Colonel 
Komaroff’s brigade in the centre was engaged in sharp infantry 
fighting. Steadily the Russians gained ground, and drove the Turks 
over the flats and the undulations till they reached the broad ravine 
of Soubatan, at the foot of the Aaladja Mountain. In this narrow 
valley, studded at its opposite side with entrenchments and batteries, 
the battle came to a standstill. Had it not been for an express order 
to abstain from advancing beyond, it is highly probable that Mukhtar 
Pasha’s camp might have fallen into Colonel Komaroff’s hands. All 
energy of resistance on the part of the Turks had decidedly been 
broken; they ceased fighting, and retired in disorder. Their dead lay 


AROUND KARS. 


547 



A Tartar Family. 


Srtttl 


























































































548 AROUND KARS. 



the Balkans. 

in rows in the valley, and the survivors were glad to get out of the 
rifle range. In consequence of this mutual pause on different grounds, 
the fighting died out there at half-past one o’clock in the afternoon. 

While thus the struggle was going on in the centre, the grenadiers 
fell in with the Turks. After a brisk cannonade with smart shell and 
shrapnel practice the deadly rifle firing was going on in an uninter¬ 
rupted line stretching two miles on either side, front against front. 
Like a light morning mist the smoke was wafted over the hostile 
forces, ancl prevented them from taking good aim. The Turks had 
evidently brought forth their picked men, several Arabian battalions, 
which fought with resolute stubbornness, as they are accustomed to do 
on all occasions, thus constituting beyond doubt the Sultan’s best 
troops. Notwithstanding their superior numbers and the bravery 
they displayed, they could not hold their ground for more than a 
single hour, and then were compelled to fall back to their rifle pits 
and entrenchments at the foot of the Yaghny hills. Worn out by the 
want of food and water, having had all day a sun burning like a 
red-hot iron over their heads, both antagonists were at last satisfied to 























Assembly of Bucharest (Moldavia). 


AROUND KARS. 


549 
















































































































550 


AROUND KARS. 


see themselves finally separated from each other by intervening hil¬ 
locks. While the infantry rested, completely exhausted by the heat 
and the work, tlie cannons still thundered continuously over the whole 
line, but with considerable less intensity than in the morning. Finally 
the Turks moved, with three fresh battalions and over a thousand 
horse, down the Kaback hill on their left endeavoring to outflank the 
Russians there. The wild, irregular riders, in their fantastical gar¬ 
ments, galloped down until they came, unexpectedly, in sight of the 
three Caucasian Cossack regiments. Quietly they stood in the valley, 
drawn in separate lines, with two batteries of horse artillery in the 
interstices. The Bashi-Bazouks, one after the other, as they rode on 
stopped their horses, fired their rifles at the enemy, who did not even 
reply, and turned back at full speed in order to give to their expectant 
comrades the dismal news that the time for plundering the Russian 
camp at Kuruk Dara had not come yet. They apparently judged 
that the Russian cavalry was more than a match for them, and in this 
conviction they united again in squadrons, and thought it prudent to 
wait, under the cover of a concealed battery, for their enemies’ onset. 
The Russian regiments, however, warned by some shells from above 
that they were likely to fall into an ambush of artillery and infantry, 
did not stir. So the fighting ceased at four o’clock p.m. on the whole 
line in the same succession as it had begun, from the Russian left to 
their right. The result was negative. Although the Russian troops 
had repulsed, with great slaughter and remarkable pluck, the general 
attack of the Turks, and had remained for four hours on the battle-field, 
from which they had victoriously driven their foe, they had been, for 
all that, incapable of wresting the principal point, the Kizil Tepe Hill, 
out of Turkish hands. Mukhtar Pasha did not hesitate to avail 
himself of the advantageous position which he had obtained, and on 
the next day shifted his whole camp down to the plain, where his 
soldiers were not exposed to the cold night winds as on the mountain. 
Here, as the Turks have systematically done during this war, they 
began entrenching themselves as strongly as possible, having one wing 
protected by the Kizil Tepe and the other by the Yagliny Hill. The 
force which the Turks brought into action consisted of thirty battalions 
of infantry and eight thousand irregular horsemen, with sixty cannons. 
The Russian army was somewhat inferior in number. 

During the remainder of August and September the movements of 




AROUND KARS. 


551 



A Turkish Bayonet Charge at Shipka. 

the armies in Asia were confined to desultory attacks, of no special 
significance or importance. 

The Turks having reinforced their left wing, and occupied Parget, 












552 


AROUND KARS. 



The Evening Prater 


































































































































































































































































































































AROUND KARS. 


553 



on the Kars River, an important engagement began on the 1st of 
October, with a skirmish near the Arpa Chai, in which the Russians 
were worsted. On the 2d, the Russian General made a serious attempt 
to cut off the Turks from Kars. At break of day the Russians 
captured the Great Yaghni Dagh, but their attempt on the Little 
Yagh ni failed. They also occupied Parget and Akchakala, on the 
Kars River. On their right flank the Turks not only resisted the 
attack of the Russians, but drove them back as far as the Arpa Chai. 











554 


AROUND KARS. 



Colonel Wellesley Inspecting the Grivitza Redoubt. 


The Russian losses on this day were sixty-nine officers and thre 
thousand men killed and wounded. Next day there was but littl 
fighting on the Russian left; the Russians retained their positions; but 
















Russian Attack on the Bridge and Town oh- T mn-rw* 


AR 0 LND KARS, 




























































































































































656 


A HOUND KARS . 



on Thursday the battle recommenced. During the night the Russians 
voluntarily evacuated their positions on the Great Yaghni Dagh, 
owing to want of water. The Turks attacked the Russian centre, 
but were repulsed. After this, on the following day, no operation of 

















AROUND KARS . 


55 *, 

importance took place; but in the evening the Russians withdrew 
most of their forces from Parget, on the Kars River, only leaving 
there an advanced guard of six battalions. 

Matters remained comparatively quiet, without any important in¬ 
cident, until Sunday, October 14th, when the column of General 
Lazaroff, which was operating with the object of outflanking the Turks, 
occupied the heights of Orlok, driving out the Turkish troops and com¬ 
pelling them to fall back in the direction of Kars and Vizinkoi. As 
by this movement part of the Turkish army was already turned, it was 
decided to make a general attack upon the positions of Ahmed Mukh- 
tar Pasha, of which the fortified hill of Evlias formed the key. Oh 
Monday morning, therefore, after preparing the way by a very well 
directed cannonade the Russians commenced a general attack. In 
the afternoon General Heimann with the Erivan, Grusien and Pjati- 
gorsk regiments, and a battalion of riflemen, made a brilliant attack 
upon Mount Evlias, which he succeeded in carrying. By the Russian 
occupation of this position Ahmed Mukhtar Pasha’s army was cut in 
two. That part of his army which retreated in the direction of Kars 
was attacked by the troops under General Lazaroff, and subsequently 
pursued by General Heimann. Towards five o’clock in the afternoon 
it was completely beaten and dispersed, losing an enormous number 
killed, several thousand prisoners, and four guns. At the same time, 
the three Turkish divisions which had remained on the Turkish right 
flank were entirely surrounded and driven out of their positions on the 
Aladja Dagh, with great loss, and at eight o’clock in the evening 
were compelled to surrender. Among the numerous prisoners taken 
were seven Pashas. The Russians also captured thirty-two guns and 
an immense quantity of war material. After this crushing defeat 
Mukhtar left part of his forces at Kars, and retreated towards 
Erzeroum. 

j After the battle of the 15th the main body of the Russian army 
marched over the heights of Vezinkoi and Orlok, thus leaving Kars 
on its right, and operated against the Turkish positions at Madikars, 
Sarykamish, and Mazca. The troops of Ismail Pasha, numbering 
twenty-seven battalions, attacked the position of General Tergukasoff 
on the 14th. Their operations were principally directed against the 
village of Chafaly, but they were everywhere driven back and com¬ 
pelled to retreat to their entrenchments. On the night of the 16th 



558 


AROUND KARS, 



Turkish Prisoners on their way to Russia. 












































































































































































































































































AROUND KARS. 


559 


Ismail Pasha evacuated his position at the foot of the mountain. He 
was pursued during his retreat by General Tergukasoff, who on the 
18th occupied the positions on the heights of Sara formerly in Turkish 
occupation. But Ismail Pasha subsequently succeeded in rejoining 
Mukhtar Pasha, whose army, though much diminished and weakened, 
held a defensible position at Zewin, on the mountain road half way 
between Kars and Erzeroum. 



A Saracenic Pavilion, 





































560 


OPERATIONS AROUND ERZEROUM. 


CHAPTER XXXIII. 

OPERATIONS AROUND ERZEROUM. 

The first three days of November were spent by the Turks in 
strengthening the works, both at Erzeroum and the Deve-boyun. The 
recent heavy falls of snow made advance from Olti a matter of such 
difficulty that Mukhtar Pasha considered it impossible for the Arda- 
han column to turn his left flank. He, however, posted a small de¬ 
tachment in the Ghiurji Boghaz, and on the suggestion of Faiza Pasha, 
the Euphrates was damned up to the north of Erzeroum, so as to con¬ 
vert its valley into one large morass. On the morning of November 
4th, Heimann advanced from Khooroodjook with the intention of 
forcing Mukhtar out of his strong position. 

Profiting by the lesson taught him on the 25th of June at Zewin, 
and by the repulse of the many frontal attacks he had so gallantly led 
during this campaign, Heimann at last appeared convinced that to 
gain a position defended by breech-loaders and spades he must either 
attempt a strong flanking movement or draw the Turks out of their 
entrenchments by stratagem. It is more than probable that this was 
suggested to him by Tergukassoff, who throughout the campaign had 
shown himself a thorough master of the art of tactics; indeed, few 
living generals could handle troops better than this general has done. 
Heimann determined on this occasion to try both a turning movement 
and a ruse, so during the night of November 3d he sent off a strong 
column along the mountain road towards Patak, and another column 
towards Nabi Kui. These were directed to conceal themselves in the 
numerous ravines on either flank of the road leading up to the Turkish 
position. 

Mukhtar’s troops were divided into three divisions. The right, 
under the command of Faizi Pasha, held the high ground above the 
village of Topalack. It had been strongly entrenched, and on it two 
or more redoubts had been placed. The centre was under the com¬ 
mand of Mukhtar Pasha himself, whilst the left column, under Captain 
Mehmed Pasha, occupied a flat-topped conical hill which enfiladed the 
whole Turkish front and commanded all the ground in its vicinity. 


OPERATIONS AROUND ERZEROUM. 561 

This was the key of the position, and ITeimann sent forward a strong 
body of troops to endeavor to seize it. The gallant Prussian succeeded 
in repelling all these attacks; but towards midday, owing to very 
severe losses, he was obliged to apply to the Commander-in-chief for 
assistance. Mukhtar Pasha, appreciating the danger, detached three 
battalions and two batteries to reinforce his left. Two of these bat* 
talions Mehmed placed on the crest of the hill, and threw the guns 
with the other battery slightly forward on some rising ground to his 
left, thus completely raking the Russian attacking columns. These 
movements seem to have been so far successful that all idea of carrying 
Mehmed Pasha’s position was abandoned by the Russian general, and 
their columns withdrew out of range. 

Success seemed certain for the Turks, and more so when, at about 
2 p.m., a strong cavalry division was seen advancing up the Persian 
road, straight on their entrenchments. Mukhtar at once sent out an 
infantry column, supported by two horse artillery batteries, down the 
road to drive these adventurous horsemen back. With loud cheers the 
Turks leaped out of their entrenchments, and dashed down the hill, 
halting now and then to pour volleys at long ranges into the Russian 
cavalry. Some of these were already dismounted, and plied the Turk¬ 
ish infantry as they advanced, with a sharp fusilade. This only drew 
them further into the trap, for the Cossacks had begun to retire, and 
the Turks pressed on in all haste. Soon they reached the Habi Tchai, 
when, suddenly, from either flank sprang up thousands of footmen, 
who, pouring volley after volley into the astonished Turks, dashed in 
at Riem with the bayonet. Mukhtar now saw his mistake. His ad¬ 
vanced brigades turned, and in much confusion endeavored to regain 
the safety of their entrenchments; but the Russians were already 
between them and the works. Hundreds of gallant Osmanli were shot 
down in brave but ineffectual attempts to hew their way through the 
dense masses of Russian infantry, whilst hundreds more sullenly threw 
down their arms and gave themselves up as prisoners. Mukhtar could 
not but see that the ambuscade must prove fatal; however, with that 
heroism which he showed throughout the campaign, he at once placed 
himself at the head of two battalions, and endeavored to stem the tor¬ 
rent of advancing Russians. It was too late, however; the contagion 
had spread, and the majority of troops in the centre, regardless of their 
commander’s personal example, of his entreaties, his orders, regardless 
36 


562' OPERATIONS AROUND ERZEROUM 

of the threats of their own officers, turned and fled towards Erzeroum. 
In vain did Faizi Pasha endeavor to rally these men; it was in vain 
he pointed out that if they would only cling to the hill on the right 
above Topalack they w T ould be enabled to enfilade the Russian advance, 
and at any rate check their pursuit. It was of no use. As long as the 
sun shines brightly the Turk will fight to the death, but he is a bad 
player at a losing game. 

The scene on the road leading down to Erzeroum defied all descrip¬ 
tion. Large convoys of commissariat cattle blocked the road, and 
through these Circassian and Kurdish horsemen endeavored to cleave 
a way, while the infantry, rushing over the low hills on either flank, 
sought the safety of the town. Mehrad Pasha and Faizi Pasha, the 
two European officers commanding the flanks, behaved with the great¬ 
est gallantry. The steady front shown by their men did, in fact, check 
the rapid advance of the whole Russian force, and thus delayed the 
capture of Erzeroum. Had the panic spread to their men, there is no 
doubt that Heimann could have passed over the Deve-boyun, reached 
and entered the capital of Armenia that night. The governor, hearing 
of the defeat, closed the gates of the city in order to prevent the fugi¬ 
tives rushing in, and as he feared, pillaging the town; but at about 
midnight, the excitement having to a certain extent calmed down, 
strong guards were placed at the gates and the men allowed to file 
slowly in. All the barracks in the place were filled with sick and 
wounded men, so that there was no accommodation for the fugitives, 
whilst to add to their other horrors, a heavy sleet commenced about 
11 p.m. The streets were crowded with famished, panic stricken sol¬ 
diers, who, wearied with the hardships they had recently undergone, 
sank exhausted into the mud and endeavored to seek comfort in sleep. 
Where Mukhtar Pasha went that night no one knows. Shortly after 
midnight Faizi and Mehmed Pasha reached the city; the former drew 
off his guns, and managed to escape unperceived. Mehmed Pasha, 
however, was not so fortunate; he was followed up in his retreat by a 
Russian brigade, and had to contest every inch of the way from the 
Deve-boyun to the Pasha Punar, some three miles from the walls. 
The following morning the Russians could be distinctly distinguished 
on the crest of the Deve Dagh mountains busily engaged in throwing 
up redoubts, and preparing for the bombardment of the city. It is 
very difficult to estimate what the Turkish losses were, but it may be 


OPERATIONS AROUND ERZEROUM. 


563 


safely assumed that three thousand prisoners and forty-two guns were 
left in the hands of the Russians, while between two thousand five 
hundred and three thousand men were either killed or wounded. 

This was a severe blow to Mukhtar Pasha, quenching as it did the 
last hope of being able to undertake the offensive during the campaign. 
He, however, busied himself to raise the fallen spirits of his men. He 
daily visited the fortifications, addressing some few words of spirited 
encouragement to his soldiers. He assembled a council of war in the 
palace, to which he invited the leading Mohammedans and Christian 
inhabitants, and there explained to them the real state of the case. 
Fired by the enthusiasm of their chief, and prompted by the hope that 
large reinforcements would speedily arrive, these announced their de¬ 
termination of aiding him with all their ability in the defence of the 
city. On the 6th a parliamentaire arrived from the Russian general, 
and demanded a surrender of the place. To this Mukhtar returned an 
answer that Erzeroum belonged to the Sultan and not to him, and that 
until he received instructions from his royal master he was unable to 
return a reply. He at once despatched a telegram to Constantinople 
iuforming the Porte of the very warlike feeling amongst the inhabitants, 
and his own determination to lay down his life rather than resign his 
charge. 

On the following day he received an answer directing him to defend 
the place to the last man and the last cartridge. A note to this effect 
was despatched to General Heimann, who informed Mukhtar Pasha 
that he would give him three days’ grace, and if at the expiration of 
that time he did not surrender, he should commence the bombardment. 

On the 7th the Russians busied themselves in throwing up a redoubt 
on the hills to the eastern face of the town. This was a large work 
some two hundred yards in length, with a parapet ten feet in height, 
and a ditch in front. It was situated about two thousand five hundred 
yards from the Tope Dagh, and completely dominated the city. All 
day and all night men were employed in its construction. Mukhtar’s 
forces were too weak for him to attempt to prevent the erection of these 
siege w'orks. He could do nothing but collect supplies and make all 
arrangements for withstanding the assault, which he knew would not 
be long delayed. Erzeroum is perhaps better adapted for this purpose 
than Kars; the enciente is of strong profile, and cannot be carried 
until it has been breached. The perimeter is about three miles, 


564 


OPERATIONS AROUND ERZEROUM. 


whereas that of Kars is almost ten, and the entrenchments of Kars, 
owing to their weak profile, can easily be carried by assault. On the 
walls of Erzeroum there are mounted upwards of one hundred and 
fifty Krupp siege guns, many of them being eighteen centimetres in 
calibre. The garrison, including armed inhabitants, could not be less 
than twenty thousand. This gave four men per yard for the defence 
of the walls, which would render an assault an extremely hazardous 
undertaking. 

On the morning of November 9th General Heimann made an ill- 
judged attempt to carry the outworks by storm. Columns were 
directed upon the Azizi position on the southeast, on Kremedli Fort, 
to the southwest; but owing to the darkness of the night, or the 
treachery of the spies, the attacks were not delivered simultaneously, 
and so resulted in failure. 

It appears that during the evening of the 8th of November there 
was a council of war in General Heimann’s tent, on the crest of the 
Deve Dagh range, to consider and discuss the best means of capturing 
Erzeroum. All saw that a most favorable opportunity had been lost 
on the 4th of November, when in all probability, if Mukhtar had been 
promptly followed up, the place would have surrendered without a 
struggle. However, several causes combined to make this movement 
particularly hazardous at that moment. In the first place, a severe 
snow-storm came on as the sun went down, which much impeded the 
advance; in the next, the feat of crossing a mountain range eight 
thousand feet above the sea-level, by a single road, with an army of 
fifty thousand men and one hundred and twenty guns, is not one lightly 
to be undertaken ; and lastly, the Russians were thoroughly worn out 
after their late long and rapid marches. So Heimann judged it inex¬ 
pedient to risk an assault on the 5th of November. At this meeting 
in the Russian commander’s tent, a staff officer named Tarnaieff, a 
man of Armenian extraction, who had distinguished himself on more 
than one occasion during the campaign, and who was personally 
acquainted with the city of Erzeroum, volunteered to undertake the 
capture of the outlying Azizi works, if he were entrusted with the 
command of three battalions, and were supported by a complete bri¬ 
gade. His views at first were scouted as ridiculous, but so earnest was 
the young lieutenant-colonel, and so fired by enthusiasm, that at last 
he succeeded in impressing his opinion on the minds of the senior 


OPERATIONS AROUND ERZEROUM. 


565 


officers. Heimann himself, a bold, daring leader, had readily fallen in 
with them, but the more cautious divisional generals, mindful of recent 
disasters against fieldworks defended by the breech-loader, dissuaded 
him for some time from countenancing Tarnaieff’s proposal. In the 
end, however, the young Armenian carried his point, and arrange¬ 
ments were made, not only for carrying out the attack on the Azizi 
outworks, which command the whole eastern system of fortifications, 
and virtually constitute the key of the position, but also for supporting 
it by a simultaneous attack on the southwestern face near the Kre- 
medli redoubt. 

At midnight the Russian columns paraded; the right, consisting of 
ten battalions, near the Loussavoritch Monastery, destined for the 
attack ou the Azizi, whilst the left column of sixteen battalions assem¬ 
bled on the Yerli Dagh, to the south of the town. Tarnaieff with three 
battalions led the right column of attack, being supported by seven 
more battalions under a general of brigade. These were left some two 
miles in rear, and covered by the darkness, the brave young colonel 
moved silently onward, accompanied with one field battery, until he 
arrived within about three-quarters of a mile of the fort. Here he de¬ 
ployed his men, and dropping two battalions, with directions to push on 
directly they heard the firing commence, he crept noiselessly on. His 
men were provided with scaling-ladders, and he determined to throw 
the ladder party on the salient angle of the Medjidieh lunette, whilst 
he with the remainder of the battalion entered the work through the 
open gorge. 

From Turkish sources we learn that before the break of day a sentry 
in the Medjidieh lunette, an outwork of the Azizi fort, hearing what he 
-took to be the approach of a large column of tooops, reported the mat¬ 
ter to the officer of the guard, who declined to believe the man’s state¬ 
ment. As dawn broke, the garrison of the lunette learned that the 
sentry had not been mistaken, for two bodies of Russian troops sud¬ 
denly entered the work, one from the parapet in the front, one from 
the open gorge in the rear, and before the men could even seize their 
arms, the place was in the possession of the Russians. Captain Mehmed 
Pasha, commanding Azizi, which is about twelve hundred yards in the 
rear of these outworks, hearing a disturbance, with that promptitude 
and gallantry that have characterized.him throughout the campaign, 
placed himself immediately at the head of half a battalion of one of the 


*566 


OPERATIONS AROUND ERZEROUM. 


new regiments recently arrived from Trebizond, and proceeded to 
ascertain the cause. On approaching the Medjidieh fort he at once 
saw it was in the hands of the enemy. Without giving the matter a 
thought, he fixed bayonets and straightway charged them. A san¬ 
guinary hand-to-hand fight took place inside, but such was the im¬ 
petuosity of the onslaught that the Russians were fairly driven out of 
the work, not before they had removed the garrison, consisting of 
twenty officers and five hundred men. Tarnaieff’s reserve battalions 
now made a desperate effort to retake the lunette, and the sound of the 
firing was now to be distinctly heard in the city. The big guns of 
Azizi opened upon the Russian columns with terrible effect Awakened 
to a sense of their real danger, thousands of citizens, stirred with phrensy 
by the wild exhortations of the Moolahs (who thundered forth their 
anathemas on the hated Giaour from every minaret), dashed up to the 
citadel, where arms were hurriedly distributed. 

By 7 a.m. the whole road from the Tabreez Gate to the Azizi was 
crowded with a mass of armed men proceeding to defend the city. 
With this welcome reinforcement Mehmed Pasha was not only enabled 
to repel all the Russian attacks, but towards the afternoon had so far 
gained the ascendency that, delivering one more impetuous bayonet 
charge, he hurled the Russians back from the lunette, and then drove 
them inch by inch up to the walls of the Tope Dagh redoubt. 

To turn to the Russian column of attack on the southeast, descend¬ 
ing the Yerli Dagh, instead of creeping along the crest and moving 
down the easternmost slopes of the Palantakan range, it found itself 
discovered, and under a heavy fire from both the Djebri and Ahali 
forts, long before they approached their goal. Further advance was 
useless. The Kremedli is a permanent work, and to endeavor to carry 
it by storm must only have ended in disaster and disgrace, so Heimann 
very wisely recalled the column, which at about 2 p.m. fell back on 
Topalack. The casualties here were very small. Had the commander 
of the detachment been enabled to reach the Kremedli unnoticed, in 
all probability Erzeroum would have fallen, for, attacked on both 
sides, Mukhtar would not have been able to devote the whole of the 
garrison to the repulse of the gallantly-led attack on the Medjidieh 
lunette. 

Mukhtar Pasha, on the first sound of firing, had proceeded to the 
Azizi fort, and himself directed the fire of the heavy guns on the Rus- 


OPERATIONS AROUND ERZEROUM. 


567 


sian columns. The gallantry of the Turks was most marked, and 
augured badly for any Russian columns that might endeavor to assault 
their stronghold; but no less marked was the conduct of Dr. Feather- 
stonhaugh, who, aided by Reginald and Percy Zohrab, sons of the 
British Consul of the place, went about regardless of the hail of bullets, 
binding up the wounds and helping the stricken men to a place of 
safety. They were not alone in their work of charity, for the consul 
himself, accompanied by his eldest son, a lad of eighteen, was equally 
busy on the battle-field, superintending the conveyance of the wounded 
to a place of safety, and endeavoring to save Russian prisoners. 

The Turkish casualties in this engagement were exceedingly heavy, 
about seven hundred killed and one thousand five hundred w r ounded, 
whilst twenty officers and five hundred men were left prisoners in the 
hands of the Russians. But the Russian loss must have been far 
heavier. Three hundred dead bodies were left in the interior of the 
Medjidieh fort, and Captain Mehmed Pasha may be trusted to have 
given a very good account of the columns whom he broke and pursued 
to Tope Dagh. The Russians, having failed in their attempt to carry 
the outworks, and having learned that reinforcements were daily 
arriving from Trebizond, determined completely to invest the place. 
To effect this, a road was made over the Deve Dagh range, via Partek, 
to Tsitawankh, in the Euphrates valley, and by this means bodies of 
cavalry were enabled to pass over the range and occupy Madirga. In 
obedience to directions received from the ambassador at Constantino¬ 
ple, Sir Arnold Kemball, who throughout the campaign had been 
present wffierever the fighting w r as thickest, and wherever the danger 
was greatest, now left Erzeroum, and took up his headquarters at Bai- 
boort, midway to Trebizond. 















568 


THE CAPTURE OF KARS. 


CHAPTER XXXIV. 

THE CAPTURE OF KARS. 

For Kars, a critical period now approached. Hussein Hami Pasha 
having refused to surrender, General Melikoff determined to commence 
artillery operations against the southeast front of the fortress. On the 
4th of November his long-range guns opened fire from Margadik. On 
the 5th, the Russian army marched from Karajal to Vezinkoi. On its 
way it was attacked by ten Turkish battalions issuing forth from Fort 
Hafiz Pasha. The Turks were repulsed, and the Russians, following 
up their advantage, entered the fort after its defenders, and effectually 
disabled its guns. When the Russian siege batteries were completed, 
they extended from the Kars Tchai, near Komadsoi, to the foot of the 
hills near Vezinkoi, and brought a concentrated force to bear upon 
the southern and eastern faces of Kars. The object of General Meli- 
koff was so to harass and dispirit the men as to prepare the way for an 
assault, and in this he succeeded, for just before the catastrophe Has- 
sein Hami Pasha telegraphed to Mukhtar Pasha at Erzeroum that his 
men were so cowed and dispirited that he feared the fortress would fall 
at the first assault. Orders were issued from the Russian headquarters 
for attacking Kars on November 13th, but the weather had made the 
ground slippery, and the operation was postponed until the night of 
the 17 th. 

In deep secrecy the columns assumed their appointed positions. 
General Lazereff, with the Fortieth Division, commanded the right 
wing, and attacked the Hafiz Pasha fort, crowning a steep, rocky 
height. General Count Grabbe, with a regiment of Moscow Grena¬ 
diers and a regiment of the Thirty-ninth Division, assailed in the centre 
the Khanli Tabia, Suwarri Tabia, the Towers, and the Citadel, while 
the Ardahan brigade and another regiment of Moscow Grenadiers, 
under Generals Roop and Komaroff, assailed positions further to the 
left, at half-past eight o'clock in the evening. 

The engagement began in the centre. The chivalrous Count Grabbe 
led the foremost of his brigade in storming Khanli Tabia, and fell dead, 
pierced by a bullet. Captain Kwadmicki, of the Thirty-ninth Regi- 


THE CAPTURE OF KARS . 


569 





'OTJjOst 


Uts^fiVaciseo; 

rKiwiiif. a. *1 


* Chamur 


Lelasgey 


KKosnatr 


The Relative Positions of Kars and Erzeroum. 


ment, jumped first on the rather too short ladder, and entered the ter¬ 
rible redoubt at eleven. His sword was clean cut out of his hand, and 
his clothes pierced. The ladder by which he had climbed was found 
to be almost three yards too short, an awkward circumstance, which 
might have led to failure had it not been for the demoralized state of 
the defenders. Some of them, however, animated by an energetic 
Pasha, had shut themselves up in the long, massive redoubt at the 
gorge, and thence kept up a murderous rifle firing till four o’clock in 
the morning. The young Russian troops had already thought of 
abandoning their conquest, on account of the rapid volleys fired from 
the loopholes, which dealt very badly with them. They sent "word to 
that effect to General Melikoff, asking for reinforcements, or for leave 
to retreat. The Commander-in-chief, having no reserves at hand, 
ordered two sotnias of Cossacks to dismount, and assist the wavering 










570 


THE CAPTURE OF KARS . 


infantry. The riders followed the summons with loud cheers, and 
backed the Grenadiers so efficaciously that they regained their ex¬ 
hausted courage, and braved anew the enemy’s fire as steadily as the 
old Caucasian soldiers. General Gulsky, the gallant and able chief of 
the artillery, managed to finish the sanguinary struggle by the threat 
of blowing the whole redoubt up with dynamite. As in all probability 
this ingenious scheme would have been carried into execution, the 
Pasha inside reflected on the matter, and thought it best to open nego¬ 
tiations, upon which he surrendered on the condition, which was readily 
granted, that his and his soldiers’ lives should be spared. 

In the meantime, at half-past ten o’clock, the troops who had been 
victorious on that part of the line of battle entered the town and drove 
the despairing Turks from street to street and shelter to shelter towards 
the Tchorak Tepe and the Citadel. The frightened inhabitants, on 
their part, had either hid themselves in their stone hovels and cellars, 
or taken refuge in the Armenian quarter, sitnated at the back part of 
the town and up hill. 

Slowly the columns advanced on the Citadel, and arrived at the foot 
of the zigzag road which runs to its summit. The narrow causeway 
was thickly crowded with fugitive Mohammedans, men, women, and 
children, who all strove to enter the precincts of the stronghold, when 
the gleam of Eussian bayonets appeared in their rear. Thus the gun¬ 
ners on the ramparts had only the option of massacring their own 
kinsmen or of giving up. They adopted the second alternative and 
surrendered. Thus this strong pile of masonry, containing the arsenal 
and depots of costly Peabody-Martini and Winchester breech-loaders, 
many Krupp cannon, together with an enormous amount of ammuni¬ 
tion, provisions, and other military stores, fell, without a serious blow, 
into the hands of the victorious Eussians. 

Considering the great natural strength of that almost perpendicular 
crag, frowning some one hundred and fifty feet high over the Kars 
Eiver, crowned with a series of solid fortifications, it seems astonishing 
that it could have been so easily conquered, and that it was not more 
valiantly defended. It would seem that a single battalion of first-class 
soldiers might have kept it for months, in the teeth of the most power¬ 
ful army. At the time of its inglorious fall some battalions of the 
Fortieth Division had climbed the not less rocky sides of the Karadagh 
Hill, and took, after a short but sharp struggle, at the point of the 





THE CAPTURE OF KARS. 


571 


bayonet, tbe massive castle-like fort on its top. Its partner, the Arab 
Tabia, of equal strength, surrendered at dawn of day, almost without 
offering a serious resistance. The Arab troops, who garrisoned them 
both, paralyzed by the cold, the want of their accustomed food, and by 
disease, unlike their Syrian brethren in Bulgaria, withstood only for a 
few minutes the determined onslaught of the sturdy Russians, and then 
either took to headlong flight or laid down their arms. 

One must have seen the Kavadagh position in order to form an 
exact idea of its very formidable natural and artificial strength. Like 
the Citadel, it is surrounded on two sides by the abyss of the Kars 
River, and falls off towards the southern plain in superposed lava 
blocks, presenting the aspect of a Cyclopean wall. With the conquest 
of these essential points, the remainder of the forts had become virtu¬ 
ally untenable, and the partly successful resistance of four of the five 
outworks situated on the Tchorak Tepe was of no practical avail. 
There the Ardahan brigade and the First Moscow Grenadiers had to 
meet and keep at bay the Turkish main force. The Russians were 
received there by a tremendous fire of cannon and musketry, which it 
was difficult to meet. Their instructions, however, did not permit 
them to storm those works, but only to content themselves with an 
energetic demonstration, with the view of retaining the Turks there, 
and of preventing them from assisting the city and Karadagh. The 
object had been fully attained, to an extent even beyond the original 
expectation, though it was accompanied by severe losses to the aggres¬ 
sors. The Russian soldiers, finding themselves out of control in the 
darkness, advanced audaciously to the very margin of the ditches, and 
kept up a sharp skirmishing engagement with the Turks, sheltered 
behind their ramparts. At midnight, however, Ihe firing ceased sud¬ 
denly on the Tokmak Tabia, and a few minutes later three rockets rose 
into the air and burst with a red light, as a signal announcing the cap¬ 
ture of that large and well-constructed fort. The remaining four, 
however, successfully repelled the repeated attempts to storm them, 
t which were made in spite of instructions. There blood was needlessly 
| spilt. When the commander of the whole fortress, who was present on 
those hills, became at daybreak aware that the forts in the plain, the 
town, the citadel, and the Karadagh were silenced, and saw the victo¬ 
rious Russian colors flying from their battlements, his heart sank and 
he lost his head. It was impossible to procure water and provisions 





572 


THE CAPTURE OF KARS. 


for his remaining troops, and his ammunition had run short. It was 
then he came to the decision to avail himself of a gap which the Rus¬ 
sians had left open expressly for that purpose, in their investing lines; - 
and evacuating the forts and other positions, he tried to make good his 
escape towards Batoum, with the remnants of his forty battalions and 
his cavalry. 

The whole fortress and city, with cannons, stores, ammunition, cash, 
etc., fell almost intact into the hands of the Russians. The Turks lost 
five thousand killed and wounded, and sixteen thousand prisoners. 
The Russian loss was about two thousand seven hundred. 

Thus fell the great Ottoman stronghold in Asia. The event made a 
deep impression upon Europe. It raised the military capacity of the 
Russians, and at the same time exposed the want of resources of the 
Turks. In the army before Plevna it was hailed with great rejoicings* 
for it excited the hope that after so many months of reverses and hard¬ 
ships the good fortune of the Western army of Bulgaria might not be 
less than that of the army of the Caucasus. 



A Turkish Araisah. 





SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF PLEVNA. 


573 


CHAPTER XXXV. 

SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF PLEVNA. 

The military operations before Plevna, narrated in Chapter XXXI, 
were followed up by movements for the reinforcement and relief of the 
Turkish garrison. On the 22d of September Ahmed Hizfi Pasha, com¬ 
manding fifteen strong battalions and eight guns, reached Diuk, a vil¬ 
lage one hour distant from Djenik (lying in the valley) and about two 
and a-half hours’ march from Plevna camp. Keeping the convoy, 
consisting of one thousand two hundred wagons of ammunition and 
provisions, within the centre, Hizfi sent out his cavalry to reconnoitre. 
They found the Russians assembled in great force near Debnik. In 
the meantime, Circassian messengers were sent by a circuitous moun¬ 
tain pathway to apprise Osman Pasha of the arrival of the reinforce¬ 
ments, in order that concerted movements against the Russians might 
be carried out. Advancing slowly, and finding the enemy prepared 
to resist the further progress of his troops, Hizfi halted till morning, 
when he attacked the Russians, shelling Debnik village and also the 
wood in which their infantry was sheltered. 

The fight soon became heavy. The Russians came out from the 
direction of Grivitza, descending the hills on the Turkish right, and 
firing rapidly. The Turks, however, pressed forward, and gradually 
cleared the way. Meanwhile, Osman Pasha despatched several bat¬ 
talions from Plevna to cooperate with the reinforcements, and so take 
the Russians on both sides simiil aneously. Seeing this design, the 
Russians fell back right and left, firing as they did so, but doing no 
harm. This opened up the way for the convoy, which safely passed 
up the valley, the troops entering Plevna after five hours’ fighting, 
during which many Russians and a few Turks were killed. 

Hizfi found Osman Pasha’s troops in splendid condition, well pro¬ 
visioned, and still holding sufficient ammunition. The sick and 
wounded in the hospitals numbered only two thousand seven hundred 
men, all told. 

The arrival of the reinforcements and convoy was greeted with great 
enthusiasm by the troops of Osman Pasha, whose position, of course, 
was thereby greatly improved. 


574 


SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF PLEVNA. 


On the 1st of the ensuing month a Turkish column, composed of 
five battalions of infantry and four squadrons of cavalry, with artillery, 
made a sortie from Plevna towards the village of Doinz Metropol, for 
foraging purposes. A Russian cavalry force, under General Tscher- 
nosudotf, supported by artillery and the fire of a body of dragoons, 
which were hurried to the spot, and aided by the attacks of the dra¬ 
goons, Cossacks, Kubansians, and Roumanians, compelled the Turks 
to return to Plevna. The cannonade of the Russian horse artillery set 
fire to the village of Doinz Metropol, and blew up an ammunition 
wagon, in consequence of which the enemy was driven to beat a hasty 
retreat. 

Two days after, the officer in command of the Russian troops at 
Loftcha despached a sotuia of Cossacks under General TarassofF on a 
reconnoiteriug expedition towards Isvor, which was held by the Turks. 
General TarassofF made himself master of the place on the same day, 
driving out by a sudden attack a detachment of four hundred Turks, 
who had been sent thither from different parts. The Russians destroyed 
the stores of corn and forage at Isvor, and returned to Mikre. 

On the 5th General TarassofF made a second attack on Isvor, and 
again drove out the Turks. The next day he surrounded the village 
of Galata, expelling three hundred Bashi-Bazouks, whom he pursued 
to Teteben. Having learned that the Teteben Pass was occupied by 
four hundred Circassians with three guns, General TarassofF bivouacked 
at Sopot, and returned the following morning to Mikre. 

On the 8th Chefket Pasha pushed along the Vid in the direction 
of Lucknovitz, halting about five hours’ distance from Plevna. Re¬ 
suming his march on the following day, he reached Disnik, in front of 
Plevna, in the afternoon. The Russians immediately evacuated the 
hills on the right, which were occupied by the Turks, who at once set 
about finishing the repair of the telegraph wires. Meanwhile, a fresh 
convoy of munitions and provisions passed over the river, and entered 
Plevna at evening. The Cossacks came out to interrupt the progress 
of the Turkish troops, but on being vigorously attacked fled, leaving a 
number of dead behind. A large number of wagons were unable to 
enter Plevna, not having been able to cross owing to the destruction 
of the bridges below Disnik. The lighter vehicles were able to ford 
the stream safely; the heavy wagons followed as soon as the bridges 1 
had been repaired. Meanwhile, the Turkish cavalry and infantry 




SIEGE AND CAPTURE OP PLEVNA. 575 

explored the environs, pushing up the side road from Gablanitza, and 
clearing the country of Cossacks. 

On the 19th the Russians attacked the Grivitza side of the Turkish 
position, pushing through the trenches on to the east of the redoubt, 
northeast of the Plevna position. 

A heavy cannonade preceded the assault, which was eventually 
made with three regiments, supported by a heavy flank fire from the 
Russian batteries on the right and left. 

The Turks awaited the onslaught with great calmness, allowing a 
body of Roumanians to enter the fosse in front of the work before com¬ 
mencing the task of repulsing them. The latter, imagining the redoubt 
to have been taken, prepared to enter, when the Turks, advancing 
from a covered trench on the side of the hill, rushed in and bayoneted 
every man in the fosse , pursuing for a short distance those who were 
able to effect a retreat. The artillery did good service on the retreat¬ 
ing forces. Presently a second assault was made. This time the 
Turks were in turn followed into the trenches, and a desperate fight 
ensued. Ultimately the assailants gradually gave way, and finally fled, 
leaving the ground covered with their dead. 

The Turks were greatly aided in their defence by the splendid 
series of trenches they had made. The reinforcements were enabled to 
reach the threatened fort unobserved and in safety. Their works were 
admirably constructed for the purposes of resisting an attack, and the 
fact that the defenders were always under shelter rendered their loss 
comparatively small. 

During the night of November 4th General SkobelefF pushed forward 
a portion of his troops to the positions occupied by his outposts left of 
Brestouritza, south of Plevna, and there erected fortifications. At the 
break of day the batteries opened a regular salvo fire, which was un¬ 
suspected by the Turks. The latter replied feebly. The cannonade, 
however, became more violent upon a column of Russian volunteers 
attacking unexpectedly the nearest Turkish positions, which impeded 
the progress of the attacking force, and of which they cut down the 
defenders. In the course of the mUee which ensued the Russians were 
enabled to discover the strength and military dispositions of the Turks. 

At a council of war held on Saturday, December 8th, it was decided 
that the moment had arrived to attack Plevna by storm. The follow¬ 
ing day a terrific bombardment began, and at early dawn on Monday 




576 


SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF PLEVNA. 


a general action commenced. Six columns of attack were formed, each 
mustering twelve thousand men, the reserve consisting of no less than 
fifty thousand. The fire of the Russian siege-guns suddenly ceased, 
and the Russo : Roumanian storming columns threw themselves against 
the advanced Turkish redoubts. There they met with a desperate 
resistance. After exchanging volley after volley with telling effect, 
a hand-to-hand fight ensued. No quarter was claimed or given. When 
the first redoubts were captured, not a prisoner was taken. The storm¬ 
ing columns then advanced on the inner lines, where the main forces 
of Osman Pasha’s army were massed. The Ottoman chief, seeing that 
further resistance would be useless, ordered a retreat northwards, 
towards Widdin. At this critical moment the Russo-Roumanian field 
artillery reserve advanced as far as the heights immediately command- 
ing the upper portion of Plevna, and opened an enfilading fire, which 
made terrible havoc among the Turkish troops in the valley below, 
who were proceeding to attack the position just occupied by the Rus¬ 
sians. The Russian batteries were attacked over and over again, but 
in vain, the object of these repeated onslaughts being to divert atten¬ 
tion from the main body that was advancing in the opposite direction. 

In the heat of the fray Osman Pasha placed himself at the head of his 
troops, and pressed forward as far as Oponesch, situated about three 
miles from Plevna, with every hope of breaking through the Russian 
lines; but before he could do so he was met by the Russo-Roumanian 
reserves. Oponesch lies on the right of the high road that borders the i 
Vid, and a large reserve force had been posted there in the expectation 
that Osman Pasha would attempt to retreat on Widdin. This force 
was well supported by artillery that had been placed on the heights 
in front of Dolni Etropol. It was in the plain between Oponesch and 
Dolni Etropol that Osman Pasha and his brave followers met with 
their disaster. The Russian guns swept down whole companies, and 
the ground was soon covered with the dead and dying. Here, too, 
Osman himself was badly wounded and fell senseless from his horse, 
receiving further injuries from his fall. Seeing their commander hors 
de combat, and possibly supposing him to have been killed, the Turks 
began to lay down their arms. The Russians had already entered 
Plevna between three and four o’clock in the afternoon, bringing up their 
forces from Grivitza, Radishovo, and Krschine; and the gallant Osman, 
who had been wounded in the foot, had no other alternative but to 







SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF PLEVNA . 


577 


surrender. In giving up his sword to General Ganezki, he is reported 
to have said, “ I surrender to the Czar;” thus once more showing his 
unwillingness to acknowledge the nominal commander of the besieging 
army, Prince Charles, as a belligerent. 

Victory was now completely in the hands of the Russians; ten thou¬ 
sand dead and wounded Turks lay on the field. Not a vestige of pro¬ 
visions was anywhere to be found. The civil population had hardly 
enough food for the day, and the ambulances had barely accommoda¬ 
tion for a few hundred wounded. 

During the battle the Czar was at Tutchenisi, a village situated to 
the southeast of Plevna. It was there that he learned the result of 
the day’s fighting. An officer of the Uhlans brought him the tidings, 
whereupon he exclaimed, “ Alas! the war is not yet over.” He after¬ 
wards proceeded to inspect the victorious troops, and meeting Prince 
Charles embraced him cordially, and congratulated in warm terms 
Genetzki, junior, and said, “ This is due to your merit, and particularly 
to yours, Edward Ivanovitch,” meaning Todleben. 

In the history of defence, that of the three or four short hills which 
run side by side near the town of Plevna will rank high even with 
that of, physically speaking, more notable places. For, unimportant 
in itself, Plevna has gained renown by the tenacity with which the 
great Turkish Marshal held at bay nearly four times the forces he 
himself had at command, killing, probably, more of his euemy than 
than the number of men altogether sent to him as reinforcements by 
the Turks, and hindering, for nearly half a year, movements which, by 
the surrender, were left open to the Russians. The lessons this defence 
teaches are many and valuable; it has demonstrated how very possible 
it is for an inferior force, when intelligently directed, to impede the 
progress of even an ably led enemy; it has shown the folly of reckless 
attack, and the value of the spade in connection with warfare; in fine, 
the worth of the instruction it gives can scarcely be over-estimated. 
Turkish volunteers and militiamen, well led, though not half drilled, 
for week after week, and month after month, held a position not natu¬ 
rally strong, but only formidable because of the genius which had 
planned its defences and the strong arms which guarded its entrench¬ 
ments, and at length only succumbed to a foe before which the oldest 
and most seasoned troops in the world must quail starvation. As 
accounting for the masterful resistance which those raw levies, under 
37 



578 


SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF PLEVNA. 


Osman Pasha’s command, made to the picked soldiers of Russia, we 
will try to point out how the Pasha continued to hold Plevna so long. 
When the Russians were investing the place in September, it was 
evident that, although plenty abounded, the stock of provisions must at 
some time or other come to an end. In those days, however, there was 
no immediate cause for fe^r that Plevna would be so utterly isolated as 
it eventually was. Had there been, we imagine that Osman Pasha, in 
turning the people out of Plevna during the few days during which the 
place was relieved by Chefket Pasha, would have retained the thou¬ 
sands of buffaloes with which the refugees proposed to draw their goods 
and chattels away, or at least half of them. As it was, he let them all 
go, trusting to a sufficiency of supplies in a few days from Orkhanie. 
Why they never arrived will probably never be knd^n; but, though 
the exact reason will always remain a mystery, the original cause was 
that terrible habit of dawdling which lost the Turks the campaign in 
Europe and Asia alike. It is stated by eye-witnesses that along the 
road to Constantinople there were enough provisions for Osman’s troops 
for six months to come. Thousands upon thousands of wagons choked 
the defile which lo^ds from Orkanie to Jablanitza ; thousands more 
filled the pass which ran to Sophia. From Sophia to Tartar Bazardjik 
the road was liiied with carts full of biscuits and flour; there seemed 
no end to the supplies for Osman Pasha. But they never reached him, 
and for the simple reason that nobody hurried them forward; and 
therefore, when the Russians, after taking Tellich, finally closed the 
road, those same supplies were still on the way. 

A finer army corps than that lost at Plevna to the Turks was probably 
never seen. It was weak in artillery, and it had little or no cavalry, 
but its infantry was superb. For a long while there were no reserves; 
the men were either in the entrenchments or the redoubts day and 
night; they lived upon pexemeter biscuits, such as an American soldier 
would shudder at; and when they got bread it was of the very worst 
description imaginable. Twice a week the men got meat, buffalo beef 
of the most aromatic and toughest kind—fine exercise for good teeth i > 
eat it, and a splendid lesson to a squeamish and troublesome stomach 
A man that could live on such meat, and get used to it, would nevei 
find fault with his food any more. For drink the men had sometimes 
coffee—nothing else but water; for the Turkish soldier is no wine- 
bibber. In the great majority of cases he dislikes even the country 


SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF PLEVNA. 


579 


mastic, which, by the way, is a pernicious drink, manufactured and 
drunk in unwholesome quantities by the Bulgarians. No mastic Was 
allowed in Plevna, except in the Christian quarter of the town; and no 
wine was brought into the camp. On the whole, the garrison lived 
frugally upon very rough bread and poor water, went to sleep on the 
bare ground, very frequently under the enemy s fire, had no rest from 
watching except such as they found in the brief snatches of slumber 
taken w T hen the Russians did not happen to be harassing them, and, 
with all that, maintained a quiet, cheerful, kindly demeanor. There 
probably never was a body of men who did their duty more readily, 
underwent so much privation more cheerfully, and fought harder than 
these same much-despised Turks. Osman Pasha’s example had, doubt¬ 
less, a great deal to do with the manne> in which the fight was main¬ 
tained. He was always with his men in the thickest of the danger 
when occasion needed; his tent was always in full view of the enemy, 
and very frequently under shell fire. When they had tobacco he 
smoked, and when they had not he refrained. His tent was almost as 
cheerless as their trenches—very little more comfort. He never slept 
more than two or three hours at a time; they were sure he was up in 
the night as w r ell as in the day, but they never knew when he might 
come amongst them. Not a man ventured to flinch from his post 
except on those occasions when, under very heavy fire, the officers 
threw themselves on the ground to avoid a passing storm of shot and 
shell, and then Osman Pasha beat them with his own hand in the 
presence of the troops. The aides-de-camp were nearly all killed or 
wounded; their work was extremely arduous and dangerous. Into 
the main position, which was very contracted, not more than a mile 
and a half long, and perhaps a mile wide, shell of various kinds was 
thrown incessantly. To go from any one part of it to another in fact, 
to be in the position at all—was dangerous ; but to take orders to the 
various redoubts was an exceedingly risky piece of work. During the 
fighting which lasted from the 5th to the 15th of September five of 
Osman’s staff were killed or severely wounded in doing such work, 
and it was amazing that all were not equally unfortunate. The head¬ 
quarter camp hill was in the centre of an oblong basin. Looking up 
on either side, one could see the shells coming over the redoubts which 
crowned the Turkish lines, and it was no pleasant task to be sent up to 
those forts right through the rain of fire which was then falling. Yet 



580 


SIEGE AND CAPTURE OE PLEVNA . 


there never was a murmur; ou the contrary, all were not only willing, 
but ready to go anywhere and do anything. So, too, inside the re¬ 
doubts, or tabias, as the Turks call them, there was the same cheerful ' 
submission to the exigencies of the situation. The men were fairly 
well covered in by earth. The Russian fire was seldom good, but it 
was incessant, and every now and then even the clumsy Muscovite 
gunners contrived to throw a shell into the forts, whereupon it was a 
very unpleasant moment for the officers. The commandants of the 
tabias were, in fact, nearly all killed or wounded. Similarly with the 
Pashas who commanded various points of the position. Hassau Pasha 
was shot through the leg. Ahmed Pasha was killed; Safvet Pasha 
received a bullet in the arm; and Emin Pasha one in the head. 

Devoted and brave as a lion, it is surprising that Osman himself was 
not killed. Mindful always of his duty as a responsible General, he 
never forgot that the peril into which he had brought his gallant 
troops should at least be shared by himself. In the most critical mo¬ 
ments of the engagement he was always with his men, encouraging 
them to do their utmost; and not only by word of mouth, but by actual 
entry into the fight, throwing the fine spirit into the defenders which 
sustained them so many months. On one night—it was past eleven 
o’clock, and all in the camp had retired some three hours to get what 
rest they could—a fierce attack was made on the Grivitza redoubt, 
which was not then in the hands of the Roumanians. The firing was 
no sooner heard, than out came Osman, and with him Ahmed the Arab 


Pasha, a fine old artillery general, and away they rode to the fight. 
Riding direct to the front, they each formed a battalion for attack, and 
then led the two lines to the charge against the place whence blazed 
out the quick flashes of the Russo-Roumanian rifles. The soldiers 
knew that the foremost man was Osman, and they cheered for the 
Mushir with such heartiness that the Russians did not wait to see what 
sort of a force was coming, but bolted away in the darkness, leaving 
some five hundred of their number on the ground. Then Osman and 
Ins colleague came back, and rode quietly to their tents, the Marshal 
cheerfully remarking that he thought the Russians would not care to 
repeat that experiment again. But every man in the place had a tale 
to tell of Osman’s bravery. They say that when he led the Turks 
against the Russians, in those early August days, before he had gained 
the position he subsequently so gallantly held, that he nerved his 








SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF PLEVNA. 


581 


twenty-three slender battalions against the enemy by a display of ex¬ 
traordinary personal bravery. The fight, which was sensationally 
described from the other side as one in which some sixty thousand 
Turks w T ere engaged, was in reality maintained by a mere handful of 
men against a couple of Russian army corps. Hour after hour the 
Russians essayed to drive Osman back, and at length, as the day wore 
on and the Pasha still saw fresh regiments of Russians coming into the 
field, it is related that, throwing himself into the thick of the battle, he 
tried—as tears of mingled rage and despair flowed from his eyes—to 
gain an honorable death in the midst of his gallant troops. He thought 
they must all be killed, and he wished to die with them. 

Of the way in which the works which Osman Pasha held so long 
were constructed, a good deal might be said technically. But as this 
is needless to the general reader, we will merely attempt to give a few 
particulars about the position, and its mode of fortification. The Pasha 
always said that he might have done more had he more guns; as it 
was, he very frequently denuded the works of guns in one part to repel 
an attack made on another. It was useless to multiply earthworks 
with nothing to put inside them. The trenches were pretty deep, and 
well made, the redoubts nearly all en barbette. Osman’s plan was to 
give the men as much shelter as possible, though the reckless way in 
which some will expose themselves, even unnecessarily, under the very 
hottest fire, can never be fully provided against. Both alike in the 
Russ and Turk, a great many must have lost their lives quite need¬ 
lessly. Yet Osman always tried to prevent this, and he never let a 
regiment lie under fire if he could avoid it. His idea was that he could 
not protect troops too well; and with that end in view he had the 
trenches burrowed out in such a manner that his men lived in little 
caves in the earth, quite safely hidden away from the dropping shell 
of the enemy, and, at the same time, at hand when wanted. He and 
his staff alone were uncovered and unprotected from the fire. 

We might also remark that, in regard to the fortifications, a great 
deal of nonsense has been talked and written. There was not a single 
engineer in the camp; all the works were designed by Osman Pasha 
himself, assisted by Tahir Pasha, the so-called chief of his staff*, though 
that is a somewhat misleading title to give him, for, in reality, Osman 
was his own chief of staff, and Tahir Pasha commanded the position 
immediately about the town. The works needed one addition—they 


582 


SIEGE AMD CAPTURE OF PLEVNA. 


should Ml have been mined. Had this been the case the Grivitza 
redoubt and that above Plevna could each have been fired after the 
Roumanians and Russians had taken and occupied them, with un¬ 
doubted moral as well as physical effect. In one or two places Osman 
Pasha had not time to erect batteries. Most of the works were made 
in face of the enemy, and many of them under fire. Osman would 
have fortified the “ Green Hill ” more strongly had he time; and he 
himself regretted being unable to do more than was done on the north¬ 
west end, that is to say, where the lines opened upon the valley of the 
Yid. The last battery on the extreme left, looking northward, did 
not even command the village of Metropoli, and under the cover of 
the trees there the Russians contrived to keep a couple of batteries 
always well masked. Had he been able to place a redoubt or two 
further out into the valley, and hold the hills running down towards 
Plevna, he would have had room to manoeuvre his army in the event of 
making a sortie, which would have given him an important advantage. 

The system employed in Plevna of conducting the defence w T as very 
simple. Nine or ten telegraph wires, connecting the various points of 
the position with the headquarter camp, ran into a little green tent 
close to that which Osman occupied. All day long Osman was occu¬ 
pied in receiving and transmitting messages. He thus knew all that 
was going on round the position without galloping needlessly about. 
The lines were, however, so small that the Russian movements on all 
sides but the exact north and south could be seen with ease from even 
the headquarter camp hill, which, indeed, was commanded by most of 
their batteries. It is wonderful that Osman Pasha was not hit by the 
shells, as they came screaming past his tent. He seemed to bear a 
charmed life. Once or twice a furious attempt was made by the Rus¬ 
sians to destroy him, they having evidently had his tent pointed out 
by some Bulgarian spy; and on one such occasion, when bouquets of 
six shells were thrown twice a minute at the little hill, he, with a quiet 
smile, took up the camp-stool on which he had been sitting, and saying, 
“ Ma maison,” with a view to indicate what he thought the enemy were 
aiming at, walked slowly to another little hill some thirty yards away, 
and there, sitting down under a tree, watched the fall of the shells as 
they came in and burst. It frequently happened, too, that some stray 
shell either fell close to the Marshal without bursting, or passed close 
by him and killed one of his horses. Incidents of this kind were con- 





SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF PLEVNA. 


583 



stantly occurring. He was always being nearly killed. So many for¬ 
tunate escapes led his followers to hope that he would yet get through 
unharmed, for they had seen him in all kinds of danger—now leading 
on the foremost in a charge, or quietly superintending the fixing of 
the uprights for some new earthwork, while the enemy’s shell plunged 
and burst all round the little party that was helping the Marshal with 
his fortifications. He was the mainspring of their defence, and what- 










584 


SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF PLEVNA. 


ever they had achieved had been owing to his splendid soldiership. A 
more gallant defence was never made; it was only by the most dogged 
resistance that the position was held against the masses of men whom 
the Russians and Roumanians hurled against it; and when all is known 
of those later days of starvation and desperate fighting, a story will be 
told for which history produces no parallel. Of the manner in which 
the guns were moved from one redoubt to another, when attack threat¬ 
ened on one side, and the other stood for the moment free; of the way 
in which the men were encouraged when fed on very reduced rations 
and had for their resting-place for many days and nights only the 
hard trenches and the wet ground; of the diminished resources with 
which Osman began the last gallant defence, after the incapable Chef- 
ket and the traitorous Hakki had left him to be shut in—a tale will 
be told some day of thrilling interest. 

The fall of Plevna was followed by an outburst of unmitigated praise 
and admiration throughout Europe for its heroic defenders. The Czar 
paid personal homage to the intrepid Ottoman commander by return¬ 
ing to him with his own hand the sword he had so nobly used. The 
Germans themselves, who know something of military valor, and are 
not wont to bestow praise -where it is not deserved, were unanimous in 
asserting Osman Pasha’s defence to be the brightest page in the history 
of modern warfare, and the Berlin press recalled that Plevna cost more 
men and money to Russia than did Paris to Germany. 

There is the very best authority for asserting that Osman Pasha 
strongly urged the Porte to allow him to leave Plevna four weeks pre¬ 
vious to its capture and to retire to Orkhanie, which he proposed 
should be made into an entrenched camp. This the Porte refused, but 
it goes to prove that the charge of incapacity alleged against Osman 
Pasha can only be based upon an ignorance of facts. It is also a fact 
that towards the middle of October a messenger succeeded in getting 
through the Russian lines with weighty despatches from Osman Pasha 
to the Porte. In these the commander of Plevna disapproved of the 
instructions he had received from Constantinople. He declared them 
to be in opposition to the suggestion he had previously made to the 
Council of War, criticised the conduct of the Porte in energetic terms, 
and accused the Turkish Government of incapacity and intrigue. He 
ended by saying that he would have nothing more to do with such 
people, but would hold out as long as possible in order to save the 
military honor of his country. 






AVENTS IN EASTERN BULGARIA, 


585 


CHAPTER XXXVI. 

Events in eastern Bulgaria. 

We continue the narrative of the army of Rustchuk from the close 
of Chapter XXIX. At the close of July, it will be remembered, the 
Czarovitch’s army was gathered on the left bank of the Black Lorn, 
with the object of besieging the fortress of Rustchuk. During the fol¬ 
lowing month the Russian batteries, at frequent intervals, bombarded 
the Turkish position. On the 14th the fire from the Russian batteries 
caused a conflagration which lasted several hours. On the following 
day the Turks opened a lively fire on Giurgevo, which lasted most of 
the day ; but the Russian batteries did not reply. On the same day 
the Russians completed a second bridge over the Danube at Pyrgos, 
and troops passed over in considerable numbers. 

On the 6th of September the right of the Rasgrad army, under Ned- 
jib Pasha, was engaged all day. The losses were many on both sides. 
The Russians retreated beyond the Upper Lorn. The Rasgrad army 
passed the Lom, and occupied Ablava. In consequence, Popkoi and 
the whole region between Karasan and the Osman Bazar road was 
hurriedly evacuated by the Russians, who took the direction of Biela. 
On the following day the Russians under General Timofejeff made a 
gallant attack on the Turks, who retreated across the Lom, and Ablava 
was reoccupied by the Russians, with the loss of one thousand men to 
the latter. 

The occupation of Ablava was followed by an armistice for the burial 
of the dead. Russian and Turk fraternized heartily whenever they 
met during the armistice. They shook hands, exchanged bread, bar¬ 
tered trinkets for tobacco, and for the first time in the war, came to¬ 
gether like civilized people. In the evening, after the termination of 
the armistice, the Russians evacuated Ablava, finding it useless to 
attempt to hold out longer with nine battalions against sixty. Late 
the next afternoon the whole division reached Banitzka, where they 
bivouacked, together with a large part of the Thirty-fifth Division 
retreating from Gagova and Polomarka, and at sunrise the following 
morning they broke up camp and marched direct to Biela. 



586 


EVENTS IN EASTERN BULGARIA. 


Bad weather prevented further operations until the 21st, when a 
furious engagement took place near Biela, Mehemet Ali having attacked 
the Russian position beyond the Banica Lom. The Russians were 
entrenched in a village along the river, and at the close of the engage¬ 
ment still held their positions, the Turks retreating on the following 
day. 

After this repulse of the Turks Mehemet Ali’s and the Czarevitch’s 
armies occupied the hills on the opposite banks of the Banika Lom, 
but in consequence of a large concentration of Russian troops, and the 
difficulty of obtaining supplies, on account of bad weather, Mehemet 
Ali, on the 24th of September, commenced retreating to his former 
positions on the Kara Lom, his right being about Kazelevo, with Ras- 
grad as a base, while his left extended as far as the defiles south of 
Osman Bazar, being within easy support from Shumla. By this retro¬ 
grade movement the Turks abandoned the intention of holding the 
country between the Lom and the Yantra, thus making it once more 
possible for the Russians to isolate and blockade Rustchuk. 

In consequence of the retreat of the Turks, an Imperial irade was 
published on the 1st of October, removing Mehemet Ali from the post 
of Commander-in-chief of the Rasgrad army, and the appointing Sulei¬ 
man Pasha in his place. At the same time Raouf Pasha was appointed 
to the command of the army of the Balkans at Shipka. The appoint¬ 
ment of Suleiman Pasha caused an unfavorable impression, as Mehemet 
Ali was considered the best strategist in the Ottoman army. In de¬ 
clining to make a rash assault on the well-fortified position of the 
Czarevitch, and withdrawing his troops to the Black Lom, he saved 
them from almost certain defeat, and manifested a knowledge of his 
profession unfortunately too rare amongst Turkish commanders. Many 
people believed that Mehemet Ali, who is of Russian origin, fell a vic¬ 
tim to Ottoman exclusivism; whilst others asserted that the whole 
affair was an intrigue of Suleiman himself. 

On the 3d of October a portion of the division of Fuad and Assaf 


Pashas crossed the River Lom at Stroko and attacked in two columns 
the Russian fortifications. After twelve hours’ hard fighting, and in 
spite of a well-sustained fire from the batteries established at Stroko, 
the Russians were compelled to retreat on Dwogila, pursued and 
harassed by the Circassians. Half an hour afterwards the Turks occu¬ 
pied the positions abandoned by the Russians. The Russian troops 





EVENTS IN EASTERN BULGARIA . 


Grand Duke Constantine, Admiral of the Russian Fleet. 












588 


EVENTS IN EAS TERN BULGARIA . 


engaged belonged to the Twelfth Army Corps, commanded by the 
Grand Duke Vladimir. A detachment of Circassians attacked a 
Russian brigade on the way from Kosova to Dzuvalkio, and com¬ 
pletely routed them. A Turkish division of infantry arrived in time 
to follow up the enemy’s retreat, which, owing to the rapidity of the 
Turkish fire, soon became a disorderly flight. 

Towards the close of the mouth Suleiman Pasha retired with his 
whole army on Rasgrad, leaving outposts at Kadikoi, Iovan, and 
Torlak. This retreat was made for strategic reasons, which induced the 
Turkish commander to concentrate his forces as much as possible in 
fortified positions on account of the numerical preponderance of the 
Russian Army of the Lorn. This army at the time comprised six com¬ 
plete divisions with three hundred cannons in the first line between the 
Lorn and the Yantra, and the reserve of the Guard at Gorny Studen, 
comprising two divisions of infantry and one division of cavalry, with 
one hundred field-pieces. The offensive, then, on the part of the Turks 
was impossible, and it was their interest to let the Russian forces 
exhaust themselves in efforts to enlarge the base of their operations. 

Suleiman Pasha immediately took steps to reorganize his army, and 
rendered it more fit for rapid movements by reducing the baggage and 
material to the limits of strict necessity. It was divided into two 
columns, of which one, resting, on Rasgrad, threatened the line of the 
Yantra, while the other operated on the line of Rustchuk and Silistria, 
and threatened at the same time the Russian bridges and their com¬ 
munications. This demonstration forced the Russians to form an army 
of observation in Roumania, between Kalarasch and Oltenitza, of which 
the Grand Duke Constantine took command. The corps of General 
Zimmerman was concentrated in the south of the Dobrudscha, with the 
design of operating against Silintria. 

Reconnoissances were made on the 24th by six columns of Turkish 
troops, to ascertain the Russian position behind the Lom. They started 
in the direction of Bassarbovo and Iovan-Tchiflik, and marched from 
Koshovo to Kadikoi, from Tabatchka to Nissova, from Kazelevo to 
Solemnik, and by way of Gerovitza to Konstanza. The Russians met 
with a determined resistance near Bassarbovo, but near Iovan-Tchiflik 
the Turkish outposts were driven back to the right bank of the Lom. 
In this encounter Prince Sergius of Leuchtenburg fell, a ball pene¬ 
trating the rim of his cap near the cockade and then lodging in his 
head. Death was instantaneous. 


EVENTS IN EASTERN BULGARIA. 


589 


Near Koshova the Russians crossed the Kara Lom, and occupied its 
left bank. During a skirmish on this occasion an ammunition case 
which was struck by a piece of shell exploded in presence of the Grand 
Duke Sergius Alexandrovitch. Near Nissova the Turkish outposts 
and a portion of the Turkish chain of investment were driven back. 
Near Solenika the Turkish pickets were alarmed, and skirmishing con¬ 
tinued during the whole day. The Turkish posts were driven back 
from Zerontza as far as the village of Kostaug. 

As soon as the object of the reconnoissance, namely, to ascertain the 
strength of the Russian position, had been attained, the troops received 
orders to withdraw. The entire Russian loss in this affair was four 
officers and three hundred men. These losses were principally sus¬ 
tained near Bassaborvo, Iovan-Tchiflik, and Koshova. 

Early in November the Turks made several important reconnois- 
sances. Four separate corps were sent iu different directions to gain 
information of the exact position of the Russians. One body advanced 
against the vilage of Polomarka, whence the garrison fled precipitately, 
leaving arms, munitions, several horses, and one Cossack, in the hands 
of the Turks ; another penetrated to Kazelevo, where the Russians also 
retreated; a third force, from Osman Bazar, entered Karemkoipru, 
driving the Muscovites out easily; a fourth attacked the village of 
Opak and took it. 

The Russians did not appear in great force anywhere. Large num¬ 
bers of them had apparently been withdrawn to aid in the attack on 
Plevna. 

On the 14th continuous fighting occurred between the Turkish out¬ 
posts on the Shumla-Osman Bazar road and detachments of Bashi- 
Bazouks and Circassians. An officer was wounded and two horses 
were killed. 

On the morning of the 15th two squadrons of Turkish cavalry at¬ 
tacked the outposts of the Thirty-ninth Cossack Regiment at Solenik. 
The Turks were repulsed, but subsequently renewed their attack, and 
succeeded, with the assistance of some infantry, in driving back the 
Cossacks towards Ostriza. 

Another Turkish detachment, after having been repulsed by the 
Thirty-sixth Cossack Regiment, which was stationed in the neighbor¬ 
hood, afterwards attacked the Russian hussar outposts before Kazelevo, 
and drove them behind the River Lom, on the right bank of which 


590 


EVENTS IN EASTERN BULGARIA. 


they posted eight companies of infantry. The commander of the Lu¬ 
blin Hussar Regiment thereupon assumed command of the three squad¬ 
rons of hussars, half a squadron of Uhlans, together with the Tuqusch 
division, and made a sudden attack upon the Turkish infantry. The 
latter were taken by surprise, and retreated in the direction of Kaze- 
levo. Being subsequently threatened in flank by the Russian cavalry, 
they withdrew to their entrenchments near Solenik. The Russians 
then reestablished tlieir former line of outposts. The Russian loss 
before Kazelevo was one man killed and twelve wounded, and twenty- 
five horses killed. 

At nine o’clock on the morning of the 19th sixteen Turkish battalions 
from Rustchuk, Bassarbovo, and Tschiflic attacked the positions held 
by the Russian outposts at Pyrgos, Khanguel, Tsckecme, and between 
Tschiflic and Trestunik. After a stubborn engagement towards six 
o’clock in the evening the Turks were completely repulsed at every 
point. The fighting at Pyrgos was the most obstinate, two companies 
of the Azof and Dnieper regiments defending themselves heroically 
against a vastly superior Turkish force. The loss sustained by the 
former obliged them at last to retire in the direction of Metsetska, 
whereupon the whole of the first brigade of the Twelfth Division ad¬ 
vanced upon Pyrgos, and drove out the Turks at half-past four in the 
afternoon, throwing them back across the Lorn. The Turks had, how¬ 
ever, already reduced Pyrgos to ashes. At three o’clock in the after¬ 
noon of the same day the Turks attacked the outposts of the Thirty- 
sixth Regiment of Cossacks and the Lubni Hussar Regiment, but were 
also repulsed. Towards six o’clock in the evening the Russian out¬ 
posts reoccupied their former positions along the whole line. 

On the 25th a force of about five thousand Turkish regular infantry, 
and one thousand Bashi-Bazouks and Circassians, coming from Berdit, 
made their appearance on the Elena road, and, after setting fire to the 
villages of Ignatowzi and Mikowzi, retreated. On the same day, two 
tabors of infantry, with three squadrons of cavalry, attacked the posi¬ 
tion held by the Russian outposts at Kowatschiza on the Shumla road. 
Eight companies of the Usting Regiment, with eight guns, supported 
by three squadrons of Uhlans, repulsed the Turks with great loss, and 
pursued them by way of Polomarca and Gajour over the Kara Lorn. 
Two sotnias of Cossacks also took part in the pursuit. The Russian 
loss was two killed and nine wounded. 


EVENTS TN EASTERN BULGARIA, 


591 



Jews Offering Prayers for the Success of the Turkish Arms. 













































































































































































































































































































592 


EVENTS JN EASTERN BULGARIA . 


At Dine o’clock on the morning of the 26th the Turks, with a large 
force, attacked the Russian fortified positions at Tersenik and Metchka. 
After a severely contested engagement, lasting six hours, the Russian 
troops, under the command of the Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandro- 
vitsch, succeeded in brilliantly repulsing the Turks, and then, assuming 
the offensive, pursued the latter until it became quite dark, notwith¬ 
standing the long range of the Turkish artillery, which covered their 
retreat. The affair was of a serious character, and is considered very 
creditable to the Twelfth Army Corps. 

The Turks attacked the Russians most stubbornly and suffered great 
loss, inasmuch as they approached to within one hundred paces of the 
Russian batteries. A large number of the Turkish killed remained on 
the battle-field, and some of their wounded were taken prisoners. The 
Russian loss was about three hundred men, including many officers of 
the Ukraine Regiment, which particularly distinguished itself in the 
pursuit of the Turks. In recognition of this affair the Emperor con¬ 
ferred upon the Grand Duke Vladimir the Order of St. George of the 
third class. 

On the next day the Turks advanced upon Polomarca, but as soon 
as the small Russian detachment occupying the place assumed the 
offensive the Turks retreated behind the Lorn without accepting battle. 
About noon the same day a Turkish detachment of all arms advanced 
in the direction of Kazelevo, but retreated after a few shots had been 
exchanged. In this affair the Turks were attacked by the Ataman 
and Ingusch Regiments. 

These reconnoissances were evidently intended to mask an attack on 
Tirnova; for, on the 4th of December, at break of day, Suleiman 
moved two brigades forward upon Airanlar, a strongly fortified posi¬ 
tion held by sixteen strong battalions of Russian infantry, with twenty 
guns. 

The engagement opened with a fierce artillery duel, which was fol¬ 
lowed by a rapid advance of the Turkish infantry. The Russians did 
their best to repel the attack ; but the Ottomans rushing forward with 
a loud cheer, carried the position in a few minutes, driving them back 
with extraordinary rapidity. 

Hereupon the Russians, withdrawing their guns, fell back on an 
entrenched height near Elena, where they made a desperate effort to 
check the Turkish advance. 

The fighting now became very severe for several minutes, the Turks 


EVENTS IN EASTERN BL LG ARIA. 


593 


being unsupported by artillery, which found great difficulty in advanc¬ 
ing over the ground. Suleiman accordingly ordered the attacking 
column to halt, and meanwhile brought up his artillery. He simulta¬ 
neously pushed forward a fresTi brigade on the left, with the object of 
turning the Russian right. Seeing this movement, the Muscovites 
opened a heavy fire upon this brigade, but instantly received a terrible 
hail of shell and shot from the Turkish batteries thrown out in front. 

Suleiman now sent on another brigade to the attack on the Russian 
left, threatening their communication between Elena and Tirnova. 
Unable to resist this combined vigorous assault, the Muscovs instantly 
commenced a retreat, which they effected under a destructive Turkish 
fire, taking shelter within the line of redoubts forming the inside of the 
position of Elena. 

The Turks now concentrated, preparatory to a renewed combined 
attack, and, the artillery being in the meantime rapidly put in position, 
at three o’clock in the afternoon Suleiman gave orders for a general 
assault upon Elena. His troops advanced in open order, well sup¬ 
ported by the heavy guns. 

All along the line the fight now became desperate, the Turks, how¬ 
ever, continually gaining on their enemy. The Russians were clearly 
surprised at the overwhelming force of the assault; they lost a large 
number of men by desertion, and, while the fight was actually pro¬ 
gressing, crowds of fugitives were flying away in the hope of gaining 
the Tirnova road before it was blocked by the Turks. The Ottoman 
advance, however, was so rapid that the defenders were unable to effect 
a retreat in that direction. Suleiman’s forces seeing this, with loud 
cheers assaulted the Russian position at the point of the bayonet, and 
carried the works after a gallant and desperate fight. 

The Ottomans captured eleven guns, twenty caissons, and a great 
quantity of ammunition. The Russians were bayoneted in every direc¬ 
tion, and threw their arms away, crying for mercy. 

Suleiman took three hundred prisoners, amongst whom were several 
officers. Upwards of three thousand dead were left on the field by the 
Russians; whilst the rest of their force was dispersed, some trying to 
escape in the direction of Gabrova, and others towards Tirnova. The 
principal portion of the Russian force proceeded to a position in the 
village of Jakowitz, situated in the entrance to a gorge, which had 
been fortified beforehand. 

38 


594 


EVENTS IN EASTERN BULGARIA. 


Simultaneously with their attack upon Elena, the Turkish forces 
made demonstrations against the entire Russian front. 

On the 4th a body of six tabors of Turkish infantry, with artillery, 
advanced along the Osman Bazar road, against the Russian position 
at Kesrova; but, although not meeting with any great opposition, they 
retired immediately. 

On the 5th several smaller Turkish detachments of all arms advanced 
in a concentrated manner from Opaka and Karahassankoi against 
Polomartscha and Kovatchitza. They confined themselves, however, 
to bombarding the Russian advanced position in the Polomartscha- 
Jenitchessi road. After an exchange of shots, lasting from 2 till 4 p.m., 
the Turks retired, and the Russian outposts then occupied their former 
positions. 

On the 6th a body of five Turkish tabors of infantry, with some 
artillery and cavalry, again advanced in the direction of Polomartscha 
and Kovatchitza, and was occupied from morning until dusk in skir¬ 
mishes with the Russian vanguard. In the evening, however, the 
Turks retired. 

On the same day the Turks, from the morning until three o’clock in 
the afternoon, maintained skirmishes with the Russian Kesrova de¬ 
tachment on the Osman Bazar road. 

At the same time a Russian reconnoitering detachment* despatched 
from Pyrgos, met with a body of Turkish troops, also engaged upon a 
reconnoitering expedition. After a skirmish of short duration, the 
Russian corps returned to Pyrgos and the Turkish detachment to 
Basabova. 

On the 11th several reconnoissances were made by the Russians on 
the entire eastern front of their line. One of these ascertained that 
the Turks had commenced crossing the Lorn near Krasna; another 
pushed to within a short distance of Omarkoi and Karagatch, and 
ended in an engagement which resulted in a success to the Russian 
arms. The reconnoitering detachment consisted of three companies of 
of the Kursk Regiment, the Lubin regiment of Hussars, and two bat¬ 
teries under General Gortschakoff. Towards nine o’clock in the morn¬ 
ing the detachment encountered fourteen tabors of Turkish infantry, 
with four guns. As soon as the engagement commenced General 
Gortschakoff gave orders to prepare an ambuscade near Kassabin, and, 
to decoy the Turks towards it, he began to retire. Th ) Turks imme- 


EVENTS IN EASTERN BULGARIA. 


5S5 






diately followed in pursuit of General Gortschakoff, and soon came 
upon the ambuscade, which suddenly assumed the offensive, turned the 
pursuing Turks, and drove them as far as Omarkoi. The Turks left 
upwards of two hundred dead upon the battle-field. The Russian loss 
in this engagement is officially stated to have been four officers and 
two hundred and thirty men wounded, and thirty-four men killed. 

On the following day an attack was made by the Turks upon the 
Russian forces under the Grand Duke Vladimir. The Ottoman forces, 
which were at least sixty battalions strong, directed their attacks prin- 



Erecting Military Hospital Tents. 


cipally against the Russian left flank and centre, merely making a 
feeble demonstration against the right flank. The Turks attacked 
Metchka six times, but were thrown back on each occcasion with great 
loss. At one o’clock in the afternoon a brigade of the Thirty fifth 
Division of the Twelfth Army Corps appeared upon the scene of the 
conflict, and was immediately ordered to take the Turkish line of 
attack in flank. Upon the brigade opening fire the whole Twelfth 
Army Corps also at once assumed the offensive, and beat the Turks 
back in the direction of Krasnoe. The Turks were compelled to retire 























596 


EVENTS IN EASTERN BULGARIA . 


upon that place, the road to Tchiflik having been cut off. On this 
occasion the Grand Duke had a narrow escape of being hit by a ball 
which struck close to him. 

Two days after, the Turks evacuated Elena, having previously set 
fire to the place, and it was at once occupied by the Russian advanced 
guard, who, following up the retreating Turks, took possession of the 
telegraph wires from that place to Bebrova, and also made several 
prisoners. The Russians occupied the latter place, and ultimately 
reached Hchmedli. Continuing their advance to the Balkans, the 
Russians on the evening of January 4th, and during the night between 
the 5th and 6th, reconnoitered the precipice of the Trajan Pass, and 
ascertained that it was impossible to attack in front, for on the rock 
called the Eagle’s Nest, close to the entrance of the Pass, the chief 
redoubt was planted, and to the east of that, connected by trenches, 
there were three other redoubts. As it afterwards proved, the Turkish 
fortifications were manned by three tabors of Nizams, and one hundred 
Circassians with two long-range mountain-guns. It being determined 
to capture the position, Colonel Grekoff, on the night of the 6th, ad¬ 
vanced over almost impracticable mountain paths, with two battalions 
of infantry, one battalion of riflemen, and five sotnias of the Fiftieth 
Regiment of Don Cossacks, and finally made his descent in the direc¬ 
tion of Karmar. At two o’clock in the morning of the 7th he drove 
the Turks out of their positions and fell upon a reinforcement of a bat¬ 
talion of Nizams which was advancing from Karlovo, capturing their 
colors and taking their commander and forty men prisoners. The 
remainder were killed, with the exception of a few’ who succeeded in 
making good their escape. Colonel Grekoff also captured eighty trans¬ 
port-wagons, containing provisions, cartridges, warm clothing, and 
tents. Towards eleven o’clock in the morning General Karzoff, who 
had been informed of General Grekoff’s operations, moved the rest of 
the troops forward. Major Duchnowsky, with the second battalion of 
the Ninth Infantry Regiment, then assaulted and carried the redoubt 
on the Eagle’s Nest, where one mountain-gun and a quantity of ammu¬ 
nition and cartridges were found. At one o’clock in the afternoon the 
main body of General Karzoff effected a junction with Colonel Gre¬ 
koff’s column at Teke, and followed in pursuit of the Turks, who w r ere 
fleeing southwards in disorder. At Teke and Kormar great stores of 
provisions and a number of cattle fell into the hands of the Russians. 


EVENTS IN EASTERN BULGARIA. 


597 


The Turks left three hundred dead in the fortifications, in the Pass, 
and on the Teke road, without including the number killed at Kormar. 
The column under Colonel Grekoff lost one officer and twenty-five men 
killed, and one officer and forty-six men wounded, with three men 
missing. The difficulties attending the crossing of the Balkans through 
the Trajan Pass may be judged from the fact that a nine-pound gun 
had to be taken to pieces, laid on sledges, and then dragged up by 
several companies of the Ninth Infantry Regiment and a sotnia of 
Cossacks; while a company of sappers went on in advance and prepared 
a road. The time occupied in crossing the Pass was forty-eight hours. 

While the army of Suleiman Pasha was, during the autumn months, 
endeavoring to resist the advance of the Russians towards the Balkans, 
a Turkish force under Raouf Pasha was attempting to hold Shipka 
Pass. The Russians having taken up a position east of Fort St. Nich¬ 
olas, on the 15th of October they opened a heavy fire from all their 
batteries, also from two mortars. Their fire on this occasion was prin¬ 
cipally directed against the Turkish centre. All the Turkish batteries 
were engaged, the cannonade lasting with great fierceness for four 
hours. On the 22d the Russians again opened a heavy fire from bat¬ 
teries on the eastern side of the Turkish centre mortar battery. The 
firing lasted for three hours; but the Russian guns were silenced by the 
concentrated fire from the Turkish batteries. On the 8th of November 
heavy cannonading was carried on on both sides in the Pass. The 
Russians had four men killed and fourteen wounded. On the 9th 
General Skobeleff, taking advantage of a fog which prevailed, ad¬ 
vanced, after having fired a salvo as a signal and carried at the first 
assault the first height of the Green-hill. He cut down the Turkish 
garrison, and commenced fortifying the conquered positions—a work 
which was concluded on the following morning. 

The Turks twice attempted to drive the Russians out of the positions, 
namely, on the evening of the 9th and the morning of the 10th, but 
were repulsed on each occasion. 

Immediately after the fall of Plevna the Grand Duke Nicholas sent 
the Third Infantry Division of the Guard and the Ninth Corps to re¬ 
inforce General Gourko, so that he might debouch beyond the Balkans 
with a sure prospect of success. At the same time Generals Karzow 
and Radetzky were ordered to hold themselves in readiness to advance. 
In order to strengthen General Radetzky, General Skobeleff was sent 


598 


EVENTS IN EAS TERN BULGARIA . 


to him, with the Sixteenth Division, three battalions of the Third Rifle 
Brigade, and the Ninth Regiment of Cossacks; while General Karzow 
was only reinforced by the Tenth Battalion of Rifles. General Gourko 
had scarcely crossed the Balkans when Generals Radetzky and Karzow 
were ordered to prepare to march. General Dellinghausen was in¬ 
structed to divert the attention of a portion of the Turkish forces by 
demonstrations against Achmedi, Twarditza, and Hainkoi. General 
Radetzky subsequently received as an additional reinforcement the 
Thirtieth Infantry Division and three regiments of cavalry. It was 
then decided that General Karzow should commence the movement 
over the Trajan Pass on the 2d of January. General Radetzky’s 
march in the direction of the Shipka Pass was completed on the 5th. 
General Karzow made his descent from the mountains with five bat¬ 
talions of his division, the Tenth Rifle Battalion, two sotnias of Cos¬ 
sacks, and three batteries of artillery. The remainder of his division 
then joined him from Slatitza, whither it had made the descent from 
Etropol. Two columns were sent towards the village of Shipka to take 
the Turks in the rear. The right wing, under General Skobeleff, con¬ 
sisting of the Sixteenth Division, the Ninth, Eleventh, and Twelfth 
Rifle Battalions, the Bulgarian Militia, two companies of the Fourth 
Battalion of Sappers, and the Ninth Don Cossack Regiment, marched 
by way of Selensdarwo, Karadli, and Hemedi. The left wing, under 
Prince Swiatopolk-Mirski, composed of the Ninth and Thirtieth Divi¬ 
sions, the Fourth Rifle Brigade, and portions of the Twenty-first and 
Twenty-third Don Cossacks Regiments, proceeded through Krestaz 
Seltzo, Gresowo, and Janina. General Radetzky himself remained on 
the Nicholas height. Three regiments of the First Cavalry Division 
were brought forward on the 7th from Gabrova. The troops took with 
them eight days’ rations of biscuits, peeled corn, salt, tea, sugar, spirits, 
and barley, half being carried by the men and half by beasts of burden. 
Besides this they had with them cattle sufficient for eight days’ rations 
of meat. Ninety-six cartridges were carried by each man, and seventy- 
six by each animal, and there was also a quantity of medical and sur¬ 
gical stores. On the 6th, during a severe frost, Prince Mirski arrived 
at Seltzo and General Skobeleff at Karadli. The artillery was dragged 
along on sledges, and all difficulties were surmounted notwithstanding 
the frightful masses of snow, which in many places was a fathom and 
a half deep. The troops marched forward with great courage. On the 


EVENTS IN EASTERN BULGARIA. 


599 


7th Prince Mirski advanced from Seltzo against Gujowo, and General 
Skobeleff occupied Hemedi. On the 8th both corps marched upon the 
village of Skipka, and arrived fighting within three kilometres of that 
place. At six o’clock on the morning of the 9th General Skobeleff and 
Prince Mirski began the battle in a thick fog and a snow-storm. To¬ 
wards 11 a.m. General Radetzky advanced from the Nicholas height 
to the attack with the Fifteenth Division. At seven o’clock in the 
evening he telegraphed as follows: 

“ The whole Shipka army is a prisoner ; there are no Balkans left 
to oppose us. In the depth of winter the Russian troops overcame this 
obstacle, broke down the desperate resistance of the enemy along the 
whole line from Sophia to Twarditza, and are now everywhere march¬ 
ing forward.” 

The Turkish positions were attacked on four sides. Twenty-eight 
thousand men, one thousand horses, twelve mortars, twelve siege and 
eighty field guns, together with twelve hundred boxes of cartridges, 
and two hundred wagons, were captured by the Russians. During the 
battle at Kesanlik patrols of Cossacks proceeded to Yeni Saghra and 
destroyed the Tsrnova-Jamboli railroad over a distance of twenty kil¬ 
ometres. The Russians at once obtained the run of the Tundja Valley, 
with an army of eighty-six thousand men in the plain east and west of 
Kesanlik, and commenced operations against the Tschirpan, Eski 
Saghra, and Papasli line, while pushing forward in order to reach the 
Maritza Valley between Philippopolis and Hermanlu. 









600 


THE ADVANCE TO SOT HI A. 


CHAPTER XXXVII. 

THE ADVANCE TO SOPHIA. 

At Orkhanie the Turks had built and strongly armed a series of 
works for the purpose of defending the road to Sophia against the ad¬ 
vance of the Russians. On the 16th of November Chakir Pasha, com¬ 
manding there, having learned that the Russians were advancing 
infantry, cavalry, and artillery in considerable force down the moun¬ 
tain roads leading from Gablanitza to Orkhanie, gave orders for the 
evacuation of the village. He destroyed every house, and ordered the 
bridge to be blown up which led from the village to the fortified posi¬ 
tion. This village lies under the lee of the mountains, about a mile 
distant from the Turkish position, which may be roughly described as 
a kind of semicircle, and was immensely strong, having several redoubts 
in galleries one above another, the outer points being fortified by cir¬ 
cular redoubts protected by double lines of entrenchments. In front 
there is a wide-spreading plain, affording little cover for advancing 
troops, especially for artillery. Here Chakir Pasha’s men were safely 
ensconced, the infantry holding long lines of trenches. The face of the 
hill rising up from the plain is very precipitous. In fact the position 
was such that it was almost impossible to turn it except by an advance 
upon Etropol. 

Early in the.morning scouts reported that the Russians were in pos¬ 
session of the destroyed village of Orkhanie, pushing forward also two 
other columns, which debouched upon the plain. Very soon the Russian 
guns opened fire under cover of the trees of the village—that is to say, 
on the right of the Turkish position. A tremendous artillery duel fol¬ 
lowed. The guns of the Turks were well served, firing with vigor and 
precision ; whilst the Russian shells fell outside range, or passed over 
the Turkish batteries, which were all constructed en barbette. 

The Russians advanced in heavy columns of infantry, attacking 
three sides of the position simultaneously, and pushing forward rapidly. 
The Turks allowed them to approach within close range, and then 
opened a destructive musketry fire from the double line of entrench¬ 
ments ; volley after volley checked the struggling masses of infantry. 


The Softas te avtncj Const a vt-vopt 


THE A VTA ACE TO SOPHIA. 601 






















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































602 


THE ADVANCE TO SOPHIA. 


The scene was fearful, a perfect semicircle of fire meeting the advancing 
clouds of Russian skim ishers, who, being continuously reinforced, tried 
to take the trenches by assault. Over and over again they tried to 
push forward, and each time they were received with so heavy a fire 
that they were obliged to retire; at the same time the Ottoman artil¬ 
lery so pelted the Russian gunners that the latter v T ere unable to con¬ 
tinue under fire, and weie forced to limber up and get out of range, 
leaving their infantry comparatively unprotected. The Turks seeing 
this, now rushed out of their trenches, and pursued the Russians, who 
fled, leaving the ground covered with their dead. The Muscovites fled 
up the mountain paths, where the Turks were not willing to follow 
them. 

At this time Mustapha Pasha was in command at Etropol, a village 
partly Bulgarian, partly Turkish, situated on the Little Isker. The 
valley down which the river runs, narrows about a mile below the 
town to a gorge, through which the main road from Etropol to the 
northeast runs, following the course of the river and joining into the 
main Plevna road at a village a few miles beyond Sikowitza. In order 
to force this gorge, across which the Ottoman works were erected, the 
Russians made their attack on the 19th, but they do not seem to have 
been in very great force, and merely felt the position. Between Etro¬ 
pol and this gorge the Etropol-Orkhanie road branches off, and runs 
along the southwest side of the ridge till it joins into the main Plevna 
road at Lakawitza, just before it enters the Orkhanie Boghaz. All 
along these ridges the Turks had small outposts, and w T orks in both the 
Orkhanie and Etropol gaps in the range. There is another road which 
runs from Etropol to the southwest, and, passing over the mountains, 
joins the main Plevna road near Kamarli, about eleven miles south 
of Orkhanie. 

On the morning of the 22d an orderly arrived with intelligence that 
Russian infantry had taken possession of a hill which commands the 
head of a little valley running due east from the town, and at the foot 
of which the reserves of Mustapha Pasha were encamped. Almost 
simultaneously with the sound of musketry fire which came down the 
valley, that of distant guns was heard from the direction of Orkhanie, 
and a despatch arrived saying that an attack was being made on the 
Orkhanie Boghaz. From the window of the room in the konak where 
these messages were being delivered the Russians could be plainly seen 


THE ADVANCE TO SOPHIA. 


603 

on the hill at the head of the .East Valley. A battalion of infantry 
was ordered up the East Valley with. one gun. This was all that 
could be spared, as Mustapna Pasha had only seven battalions and 
four guns to hold the whole of his position ; and just then the mountain 
gun from the crest of the ridge north of the village told him that the 
Russians were moving in the direction of the gorge also. The Russian 
plan of assault was carefully planned, and well executed ; for, though 
their points of attack were some twelve miles apart from right to left, 
the four different demonstrations, two of which only were attacks, 
commenced within twenty minutes of each other. 

The cause of the Turkish firing on the north ridge soon became ap¬ 
parent. Below the crest of the ridge, about three-quarters of a mile 
from the mouth of the gorge, where the valley begins to widen again, 
a line of Cossack videttes were stretched across the flat, sitting motion¬ 
less on their horses; while five hundred or six hundred yards in their 
rear, just below the little village of Lochavitza, a train of infantry were 
seen moving among some trees—not infantry alone; for a white puff 
of smoke came from amongst the trees, and a shell burst harmlessly 
among the trees to the left. Thene is a long, low spur which, running 
paralled to the Isker, is at right angles to the ridge. Just as the gun 
in the valley below opened fire, a line of cavalry advanced over this 
ridge, followed by two field guns, supported by three battalions of 
infantry, and taking up a position about the same distance from the 
Turkish position as their gun in the valley, opened fire also, doing no 
damage, but evidently with the intention of drawing the fire of the 
Turkish guns up on the ridge. The infantry which supported them 
in the meantime commenced throwing up breastworks, and one bat¬ 
talion, moving along the ridge, took up a position and commenced 
constructing shelter trenches. These guns shelled the heights all the 
afternoon, the small mountain gun occasionally replying. So things 
remained in this direction at sundown. In the meantime a heavy 
musketrv fire commenced about 2 p.m., and lasted all the afternoon in 
the East Valley. The Russians having got possession of the conical 
hill which commands the valley, made a forward movement to obtain 
possession of a ridge below, which commanded the Turkish reserve 
camp, but were driven back with loss, holding, however, at sundown 
the crest of the hill and some rocky ground half-way down the face. 
The Turkish loss was some thirty men killed and wounded. Mustapha 


604 


THE ADVANCE TO SOPHIA. 


Pasha sent for reinforcements to Kamarali, and expected three bat¬ 
talions to arrive in the early morning, when he meant to dislodge the 
Russians from their position to the east. 

Daylight showed that the Muscov had not been idle; two redoubts 
were thrown up on the summit of the bare hill at the head of the East 
Valley, while on the other side the fact of something having gone 
Wrong with the telegraph wire was significant enough. The expected 
reinforcements not arriving in time, nothing was done towards ousting 
the enemy from his position beyond shell practice, which was kept up 
all day. To the north, however, things began to look much more 
serious; the Russians had crossed the ridge commanding the Orkhanie 
road during the night, and were advancing along the crest of the ridge, 
driving in the Turkish outposts. 

The state of things at Etropol on the evening of the 23d was this: 
The Russians had entrenched themselves on the hill at the head of the 
East Valley, descending from which each hill commands the other, 
down to the Turkish reserve camp. They had full possession of the 
northern road to Orkhanie, and of the heights which commanded the 
Turkish positions holding the gorge. Although up to sunset the Turks 
still held the actual key to the gorge, still it was only a question of 
time, and it was considered untenable, the Turks gradually falling 
back on Etropol and occupying the ridges south of the Orkhanie road 
instead of north. One battalion had just arrived, and the south road 
via Kamarali and the pass to Isladi still remained in the hands of the 
Turks. The Ottomans had evacuated the Orkhanie Boghas, and con¬ 
centrated their lines of defence on the mouth of the gorge by Wratsch- 
esh. The most advanced position the Turks now held on the plain 
was the line of works east of the town of Orkhanie, which could be 
commanded, but the position in the mouth of the gorge was very strong. 
The village of Laskeni was now the neutral ground, as it were, between 
the Turks and the Russians, who were in force along the heights to the 
northeast. 

On the night of the 24th the Turks evacuated Orkhanie, withdraw¬ 
ing their troops from the line of fortifications to the east of the town, 
and concentrating them in the mouth of the Orkhanie Pass, the force 
at the General’s disposal not being sufficient to make a forward move¬ 
ment, and the works east of Orkhanie being too extensive to hold, now 
that the Russians had possession of the Lovochina Pass. The move- 


THE ADVANCE TO SOPHIA. 


605 


'ment was executed without any confusion among the troops; the tents 
were left standing in conspicuous positions, and there was no burning 
of houses in the town, which might have given an inkling of what was 
going on. The Russians were strong along the line of hills north of 
the valley on the evening before, and a large force of infantry, with 
many guns, were encamped just west of the mouth of the Lovochina 
Pass. 

Upon the same day that the attack was made upon Etropol, the 
main Russian force, under General Shuvaloff, having driven the Turks 
out of their position opposite Provitz, occupied the latter place, and 
commenced entrenching themselves, dragging up artillery to the almost 
inaccessible heights, with the object of inducing the Turks to believe 
that an attack in front was intended. 

Throughout the day and night of the 23d, and during the following 
morning, the Russian troops kept up a perpetual skirmishing, and in 
the meantime the attention of the Turks at Orkhanie and Etropol was 
diverted by means of a feigned advance executed by detachments from 
Wratza in the direction of Orkhanie, and by two columns proceeding 
along both banks of the Isker against Etropol. The detachment from 
Wratza became subsequently engaged in a serious encouuter with 
cavalry. This body of troops, consisting of three squadrons of mounted 
Grenadier Guards and three squadrons of the Dragoon Guards, with 
the Second Mounted Battery of the Guard, was despatched from 
Wratza towards Orkhanie, and on the 22d divided itself into two 
columns, of which the left, composed of a squadron and a-half of 
cavalry and two guns, under the command of Colonel Nicetansky, 
proceeded in the direction of Nowatschin, while the right, including 
the whole remaining force, marched through Raschkowo and Rodatin, 
and advanced as far as Ludikowo, where skirmishing began. The 
advanced guard of the left column, consisting of half a squadron of 
cavalry under Captain the Baron Stempel, in consequence of a thick 
fog that prevailed, passed by the Turkish fortified position at Nowat¬ 
schin, and reached the village of Skriwer, where they came upon a 
body of sixty Turkish horse, thirty of whom they cut down, and drove 
the rest for some distance out of the village. At the same time fight¬ 
ing commenced to the rear of the advanced guard, between a force of 
Turkish infantry and artillery and a squadron of dragoons with two 
guns, the Russians being attacked in front and flank by a body of four 


606 


THE ADVANCE TO SOPHIA. 


hundred Circassians. Captain Stempel’s force then rejoined the rest 
of the left column, and the united force, thus consisting of a squadron 
and a half of cavalry and two guns, thereupon commenced to retreat 
step by step, sustaining for three hours the attacks of two battalions of 
Turks, with two guns and a body of four hundred Circassians. The 
Russians, exposed to the continual onslaughts of the Turks, passed in 
their retreat between Nowatschin and Kara Derbeut, at which point 
the further march of the Dragoons of the Guard became a matter of 
the greatest difficulty, the pass through the mountains being entirely 
blocked by the carts and cattle of a crowd of fugitive Bulgarians who 
were making their way through it. The Russians were ultimately 
compelled to throw one of their two guns down a precipice, while the 
other was captured by the Circassians, after all the men in charge of 
it had been cut down. The remainder of the defeated detachment 
occupied the village of Kara Derbent, where they kept off the advanc¬ 
ing Turks by a steady fire until the arrival of the right column, which 
covered their retreat. Of twelve officers who started with the left 
column only two came out unscathed, three having been killed, three 
severely wounded, and four slightly injured. The loss among the men 
was forty-three killed, twenty-four wounded, and two missing out of a 
total of one hundred and fifty. Although the force paid dearly for the 
duty entrusted to it, it still gained its object of preventing, by means 
of a diversion, the Turkish troops at Orkhanie from sending any 
assistance to those defending the position of Provitz. 

The main blow was, however, prepared against the Turkish left 
flank and rear. On the morning of the 21st a column under General 
Rauch crossed the mountain over steep precipitous paths, being com¬ 
pelled at times to make use of dynamite in order to force their way. 
The artillery was dragged up by the men themselves. After forty- 
nine hours’ uninterrupted struggle with incredible difficulties, the 
column reached the almost inaccessible position held by the Turkish 
left flank. At noon on the 23d General Rauch’s troops drove the 
enemy from his position, the Turks in their flight having to pass 
through a storm of shells from General Schuvaloff’s artillery. In spite 
of their fatigue, General Rauch’s force pursued the enemy uutil five 
o’clock in the afternoon, when a fog came on which concealed the 
Turks from their view. The Russians thus occupied the position 
which they had gained with so much difficulty, and reached a point 




An Outpost of the Turkish Army. 




THE ADVANCE TO SOPHIA 


607 































































































































































608 


THE ADVANCE TO SOPHIA . 


on the Orkhanie road almost as far as Laskeni. In the column 
under the command of General Rauch there were, besides the Lem- 
nofsk Regiment of the Guard and the Rifle Battalion of the Imperial 
Family, three sotnias of Cossacks and a platoon of mountain artillery. 
The Russian loss consisted of two officers, and seventy men wounded. 

The Turks having withdrawn from Provitz to the fortified position 
of Wretsesch, behind Orkhanie, and from Etropol to the Greot heights, 
the Russian column operating under General Ellis fortified itself in 
the position of Provitz, and kept up an observation of Wretsesch. 

On the 27th preparations were continued by the Turks to resist the 
Russian advance, which was apparently on all sides, Wretsesch being 
still occupied by the advanced guard under Chakir Pasha. 

The Muscovite artillery in the morning opened upon Chakir’s posi¬ 
tion at Wretsesch, the firing becoming very heavy towards noon, when 
a column of Russians, moving from Etropol, drove in the Turkish 
pickets. A severe fight ensued, lasting till sunset, the enemy’s superior 
numbers enabling him to hold possession of the ridge close to the Ork¬ 
hanie Pass. Osman Bey having been wounded during the heavy shell 
fire, the Turks quietly evacuated Wretsesch in the night. 

Next morning large masses of Russian infantry were reported to be 
pushing through Orkhanie village, supported by artillery; but the 
scouts were unable to give the exact direction in which these troops 
were moving, so as to bring them within the line of firing. A heavy 
fog rested over the hills which formed the Turkish position. Mean¬ 
while, the Ottoman troops holding the extreme eastern position were 
reinforced, more men being sent into the redoubt and entrenchments 
forming the defence at that point. This redoubt, called Yildis, is 
about half-way up a steep hill, and was supported by two smaller bat¬ 
teries, each armed with six guns. This pbsition became, shortly after 
noon, the object of a terrible attack. The fog lifting, clouds of Rus¬ 
sians were discerned, in skirmishing order, climbing up the face of the 
hill, and directly in front of the redoubt, from which a terrific mus¬ 
ketry and artillery fire was poured out on the Muscovites as thev en¬ 
deavored to struggle up. They were successfully checked, when large 
reinforcements were observed to quit the wood close to the hill, and 
advance over the plain ; another force pushed up, on the eastern side 
of the hill, and attempted to take the redoubt by a combined assault. 
The Russians succeeded in getting pretty well over the end of the fur- 


THE ADVANCE TO SOPHIA . 


609 


thermost gallery, and the fight now became really awful to look at. 
Yildis redoubt and the two others poured a destructive fire into the 
Russian masses on the snow-covered plain, while the Turkish iufantr} 
on both sides of the redoubt kept up an unceasing musketry discharge. 

It was quite clear from the manner in which the Russians continued 
the fight that their best troops were in action, as, despite the fearful 
slaughter of them, they pushed forward continually and undaunted. 
Several times they were near gaining the entrenchments of the redoubts. 

At times the fog entirely obscured the view of the operations; then 
rising, it showed the fight still proceeding, the Russian dead and dying 
covering the sides of the hill, and the Turkish artillery still pouring 
out a deadly fire with tremendous rapidity, their musketry not being 
less effective. 

Towards four o’clock the final Russian attack was made, the troops 
advancing with loud cheers. They were met by a withering fire, and 
the Turks, leaping from their trenches, advanced on both sides simulta¬ 
neously. So great was the shock of this assault by the Ottomans that 
the Russians broke and ran, their reserves retiring into the wood. The 
flying masses of Muscovites were literally mowed down by the artillery 
discharges from the redoubts; the victorious Turks lustily cheered 
“ Allah!” all along the line, and the bands of music played inside 
and outside the redoubt. 

The Russians at once began constructing a line of batteries opposite 
the ridge of the Turkish position, with the purpose of bombarding the 
Turks, and preventing a movement towards Plevna. On the 1st of 
December General Ellis occupied a position nearly opposite the position 
of Arab Konak, his left flank joining hands with the forces under 
General Dandeville, who had captured and occupied the heights of 
Groot on the 28th. During the 30th of November and the first two 
days of December the troops were engaged in dragging guns up the 
mountains, a task of the greatest difficulty. 

On the 3d of December the Russians were victorious in two engage¬ 
ments ; the first was by the column under Major-General Kurnkoff, 
who, having descended from the Slatitza Pass, occupied the villages of 
Kliskoi and Itschpoletsch, compelling the Turks to retire to their forti¬ 
fied camp at Slatitza. At the same time Colonel Count Komarowsky 
advanced upon Slatitza from the eastern side, namely, from Teteven. 

The second of the two affairs was carried out under the direction of 

39 


THE ADVANCE T6 SOPHIA . 


610 

General Ellis, who succeeded in carrying the heights to the west of the 
Sophia road, which dominated the Turkish position at Arab Konak. 
The position was, however, not won until after some hard fighting. 
The Russian troops in climbing the heights were exposed from half¬ 
past ten in the murning until three in the afternoon to the violent 
attacks of twelve tabors of Turkish troops, all of which were repulsed 
by the Russian advanced line, consisting of four battalions. At one 
moment the position of the Russians was critical, but in the end they 
triumphed. After their third attack the Turks were decisively driven 
back, after suffering great loss. The commanding heights were then 
occupied by the Russians, who were subsequently largely reinforced 
by troops brought up by General Schouvaloff. The position was 
strongly fortified. The bombardment of the Turkish positions at Arab 
Konak and Schandorinsk was commenced on the same day. The Rus¬ 
sian loss is reported to have amounted to one hundred and fifty men. 

During the month of December the troops of General Gourko’s 
army advanced from their former positions to Baba Konak, and made 
preparations for marching against the positions at Arab Konak and 
Schandornik. 

On the 26th the Russian troops started from Orkhanie for Tschurjan, 
and from Wratschesch for Omurgatsch and Schiljawa. For the Ork¬ 
hanie detachment, which marched in three columns, a new road was 
made by the sappers of the Guard and the Preobrashenz corps. This 
work was commenced on December 21. In order to keep the Turks in 
ignorance of what was being done, possession was taken of the village 
of Tschurjan on the southern slope of the Balkans, and a squadron of 
Astrakan Dragoons stationed there prevented the approach of recon- 
noitering Circassians. The sappers and Preobraschenz reposed in the 
village of Tschurjan during the day, and worked at night from the 21st 
till the 25th of December, when the road was completed, being made 
broad enough for the passage of nine-pounders. Nothing had been 
observed by the Turks. On the 24th a snow-storm threatened to destroy 
the work, and the road was turned into a sheet of ice, so that the ad¬ 
vanced guard, under General Rauch, had to cut steps along the path, 
in order to drag the guns up. The descent from the crest of the moun¬ 
tain was commenced at nightfall on the 26th, as in the daytime the 
movement would be visible from Arab'Konak and Schandornik. The 
descent was more difficult than the ascent, the southern slope being so 


THE ADVANCE TO SOPHIA . 


611 


steep that the guns had to be let down from tree to tree by means of 
ropes. The ammunition cases were let down empty, and the ammuni¬ 
tion was carried in the hands of the soldiers. On the 27th the vanguard 
began to assemble in Tschurjan, and General Gourko, having person¬ 
ally superintended the crossing, only arrived in that village on the 
evening of the 26th. The whole Orkhanie column did not enter Tschur¬ 
jan until the 31st, thus taking six days and six nights to accomplish a 
passage of which the distance is only ten miles, so enormous were the 
difficulties to be overcome. General Weljaminoff’s column, which 
started from Wratschesch, encountered still greater obstacles; the guns 
had to be dismounted from the carriages and placed upon sledges. 
While crossing the mountain this column received orders to change its 
direction, and, instead of advancing upon Schiljawa, to proceed to 
Tschurjan, as it had been ascertained by a reconnoissance that the 
Turks had fortified a new position near Taschkisena, which the Rus¬ 
sians intended to attack. General WeljaminofF arrived at Tschurjan 
on December 30. The Turks not having observed his movements in 
time, were unable to prevent his passage, and they, therefore, deter¬ 
mined to await the Russians in the fortified position near Taschkisena. 

On the evening of the 30th all three eschelons of the Orkhanie 
column, namely, the detachments under Generals Rauch, Kurloff, and 
Phillissophoff, were concentrated. At daybreak on the 31st General 
Rauch, with the Preobraschenz regiment, advanced against the Turkish 
entrenchments on the right of Taschkisen ; while General Kurloff, with 
the second brigade of the Third Infantry Division of the Guard, 
marched toward Dolnatschewo, turning the left flank of the Turks, 
with his back turned towards Dolny Komarzi. General PhilossophofF, 
with the first brigade of the Third Infantry Division of the Guard, and 
the second and third battalions of the Rifles of the Guard, was stationed 
as a reserve on the Sophia road. The battle commenced at 9 a.m. A 
detachment under Colonel Wasmund, consisting of three battalions, 
was ordered to protect the left flank and keep up connection with 
Count Schouvaloff. The latter, on his part, moved the body-guard of 
the Moscow and Pawkow regiments and a battalion of the Ismailow^ 
regiment forward, and to the right, in order to join hands with Colonel 
Wasmund. Simultaneously with the commencement of the fighting 
by General Rauch, a rifle fire was opened by Count Schouvaloff and 
the Prince of Oldenburg’s troops, who remained in front of the Turkish 



612 


THE ADVANCE TO SOPHIA. 


positions at Arab Konak and Schandornik. This demonstration was 
of such a vigorous character that the Turkish reserves were kept 
throughout the day from a movement towards Taschkisen. In the 
meantime General Rauch, maintaining only a cannonade in front, sent 
the Preobraschenz troops and rifles over the mountain in the rear of 
Taschkisen. A front attack would have been useless, as the Turkish 
position was strongly fortified, every house in the place being suitable 
for defence. The artillery and rifle engagement lasted from 9 A.M. 
until 2 p.m., when a loud shout of “ Hurrah! ” was heard in the rear of 
the Turkish position. The shout proceeded from the Preobraschenz 
f.nd riflemen, who pressed forward into Taschkisen from behind, the 
Turks being already in the act of retreating. At the same time the 
column under General Kurloff completed the turning movement, and 
took up a position on the road behind Taschkisen, cutting off from com¬ 
manding heights the direct communication of the Turks with Arab 
Konak. For this reason the Turks did not retreat along the road, but 
dispersed along the mountain paths, abandoning their horses, ammuni¬ 
tion cases, and wounded. Their artillery had apparently been moved 
earlier, as after a very well-directed shot from the first battery of the 
First Artillery Brigade, which was followed by a loud explosion in the 
Turkish position, the Turks entirely stopped their artillery fire. Gen¬ 
eral Kurloff’s column pursued the Turks, but was unable to march far 
on account of a dense fog. The other troops passed the night in the 
conquered positions. After their defeat at Taschkisen the Turks ap¬ 
parently began to evacuate Arab Konak and Schandornik, taking their 
departure during the night, and leaving behind them a rearguard. On 
the evening of the 31st some volunteers of the Semenoff and Moscow 
regiments, who crept forward to the entrenchments to see whether they 
were occupied, were received with a vigorous rifle discharge, and were 
obliged to return. The withdrawal of the Turks from Arab Konak 
and Schandornik was only made man nest on the 1st. The Turkish 
vanguard, consisting of thirty-four tabors, being threatened on all sides 
by Russian troops, fled in disorder, and were almost all captured. 

While the Russians were in pursuit of the retreating Turks, a severe 
engagement commenced and continued for some time near Bugaron, 
where General Weliaminoff’s detachment was stationed. This corps, 
which consisted of five battalions of infantry and one brigade of cavalry, 
with six guns, and a brigade of Caucasian Cossacks, was posted in the 


THE ADVANCE TO SOPHIA . 


613 


direction of Sophia, and was attacked and hemmed in on three sides bj 
twelve tabors of infantry, supported by cavalry and eight guns which, 
had advanced from Sophia. The Turks attacked with great vehemence. 
The first brigade of the Thirty-first Division allowed them to approach 
within fifty paces, and then, after firing a volley, attacked them at the 
point of the bayonet. After a sanguinary hand-to-hand fight, in which 
the Russians captured a standard, the Turks were repulsed, leaving 
behind upwards of one thousand dead. They then took to flight, being 
pursued by tho Russians. The latter lost about two hundred killed 
and wounded. 

The General, in his report, says: “ This brilliant feat merits special 
notice, since General Weliaminoff, although placed in a critical posi¬ 
tion, succeeded in defeating the enemy without asking for reinforce¬ 
ments, and in this manner the rest of the troops were enabled to carry 
out their operations undisturbed.” 

On the 2d of January General Gourko personally carried out a 
recon noissance, whereby he ascertained that Sophia was only fortified 
on the eastern side, while on the north there were no fortifications, nor 
had any measure of precaution been taken. Consequently he sent for¬ 
ward twelve battalions under General Weliaminoff, against the village 
of Kumanitza, on the Isker, in order to make the chief attack from the 
northwest. The Turks, perceiving this movement, withdrew from 
Sophia during the night, without awaiting an attack, and retired in a 
louth westerly direction towards Kistendelo. They took the well-to-do 
and influential Bulgarian inhabitants with them, but left their sick and 
wounded behind. At daybreak on the 3d the withdrawal of the Turks 
was discovered, and the Russian forces at once entered Sophia, the 
band playing and singing at their head. A vanguard was sent forward 
on the Kistendelo road towards Balamefendi, and a detachment was 
also sent to join hands with the Servians marching on Sophia from 
Pirot. The Third Division of Infantry of the Guard, which was pur¬ 
suing the Turks who retired from Arab Konak, Schandornik, and 
Taschkisen, had already occupied Patritschew, and Russian cavalry 
advanced towards Kalofer, Otlukioi, Ichschimion, and Somakowo. Ini 
Sophia there were general rejoicings among the Christian population, 
and immediately after General Gourko’s entry a solemn service was 
celebrated at the Cathedral. This was the first time since 1434 that a 
Christian army has entered Sophia, 


614 


FROM THE BALKANS TO PHILIPP0P0L1S. 


CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

FROM THE BALKANS TO PHILLPPOPOLIS. 

Skobeleff, the second day after the battle of Shipka, marched for 
Hermanli, the junction of the Philippopolis and Zamboli Railways, 
forty-five miles from Adrianople, with two divisions, the Sixteenth, his 
own division, and its twin, the Thirty-ninth of the Fourth Corps, to¬ 
gether with two brigades of eight battalions of sharpshooters. Brigades 
of cavalry of the Third Division, under the command of General Kart- 
soff, marched upon Philippopolis by way of Kalofer and Karlovo. 
Radetzky’s corps, to which the Fifteenth Division was added, followed 
Skobeleff as far as Eski-Zagra and marched upon Cirpan, east of 
Philippopolis, evidently with the intention of surrounding that place, 
in cooperation with the Third Division, marching by the Karlovo road ; 
and also to cut off the Turks at Ichtiman defending that pass against 
General Gourko. 

The Turks, by this movement of Radetzky and Skobeleff, would find 
the whole valley of the Maritza cut off behind them. In this way the 
retreating army of Sophia, as well as the Philippopolis forces, would 
have no escape but by throwing themselves into the Rhodope moun¬ 
tains, where there are no roads, and where they must inevitably lose 
their artillery and baggage, and be dispersed, in any case prevented 
from reaching Adrianople before Skobeleff, and reinforcing its garrison. 

The plan in great part succeeded, and although only about three 
thousand prisoners were taken, a great part of the artillery was cap¬ 
tured, and the armies of Philippopolis and Sophia dispersed. 

The Turkish forces at Arab Konak retreated upon Slatitzca, evi¬ 
dently with the intention of defending the entrance to the valley of 
Tundja, and preventing General Gourko from turning the positions at 
Shipka. There were twenty-five tabors, probably fifteen thousand men. 
The army of Sophia fell back partly uoon the Kaputchik defile, near 
Ichtiman, on the road from Sophia to Tatar Bazardjik, but principally 
upon Samakoff, southeast from Sophia. These dispositions evidently 
indicated the following plan : 

General Gourko would naturally advance upon the Kaputchik defile, 


Russian Jewish Merchants Bartering for Goods. 




















































































































































































616 


FROM THE BALKANS TO PHILIPPOPOLIS. 


attack it in front, and endeavor to turn it. The Turkish commander 
then evidently meant to attack General Gourko in the rear and flank 
with the bulk of his forces at Samakoff. There were some fifty tabors 
at Sophia, about thirty thousand men, of which only five tabors went 
to hold the defile, probably because it was expected that reinforcements 
would arrive from Philippopolis. The plan was good enough, and 
might have given General Gourko some trouble. Samakoff is a posi¬ 
tion against the mountains easily defended, and cannot be surrounded. 
It has a road to Philippopolis independent of the high road. General 
Gourko could not march upon Philippopolis with a strong Turkish 
force at Samakoff in his rear, nor could he invest that place or take it 
without great sacrifice of men. 

The march of the entire army of General Gourko from Sophia to 
Philippopolis in the short space of six days, crossing the Great Balkan 
range in severe winter weather, driving the scattered forces of Suleiman 
Pasha before it in every direction, occupying the city after a series of 
brief but bloody engagements, was one of the most brilliant feats of the 
war. It resembled in rapidity of movement and swiftness of combina¬ 
tion Grant’s pursuit of Lee after the fall of Richmond, but was less 
successful, inasmuch as he did not succeed in capturing the Turkish 
army. It was, however, equally important in its consequences, as it 
resulted in the destruction and dispersion of that army. 

General Gourko remained in Sophia only three days to rest his half- 
starved, half-frozen soldiers. A stout resistance was expected at four 
points in the mountains, namely, north of Samakoff, at Trajan’s Gate 
beyond Ichtiman, in the valley of the River Topolnica below Petricevo, 
and at Otlukoi. General Gourko divided his force into four detach¬ 
ments. The column on the right, which started from Sophia on the 
7th of January, was under command of General Weliaminoff, and was 
instructed to advance rapidly upon Samakoff, in order to cut off the 
retreat of the Turks, who left Sophia via Radomir. 

General Weliaminoff found the Turks in strong sitions around 
Samakoff, and pushed a reconnoissance, in which he lost one hundred 
and fifty men. Next day the Turks sent a flag of truce, saying they 
had orders from Constantinople to ask for an armistice. General 
Weliaminoff asked for instructions from General Gourko, who ordered 
him to attack instantly, but when Weliaminoff prepared to attack next 
day, he found that the Turks had disappeared. 


FROM THE BALKANS TO PHILIPPOPOLIS. 617 

The main column > commanded by Count Schouvaloff, marched from 
Sophia on the morning of the 9th by the Ichtiman road, and was ex¬ 
pected to advance upon Tatar Bazardjik only after the Turkish posi¬ 
tions in Trajan’s Gate had been rendered untenable by the forward 
movement of the flanking columns east of the Ichtiman road. The 
detachment of General Schildner Schuldner was to follow the River 
Topolnica; and on the extreme left a strong column, led by General 
Krudener, was ordered to proceed by way of Otlukoi, following the 
line of retreat of Chakir Pasha’s army from Kamarli, uniting with the 
other columns before Tatar Bazardjik. The small detachment under 
Count Komaroffsky which had occupied Slatica was to proceed to join 
the column of General Karzoff, to which it belonged, and which was 
advancing, via Karlova, to complete the connection with the army 
which crossed the Shipka Pass. 

The success of this complex movement depended entirely on the 
timely arrival of the separate columns at their destinations, and as the 
weather gave signs of breaking up, and the communications were at 
the best extremely difficult and uncertain, it seemed very much like a 
leap in the dark to cut loose from the base of supplies and strike away 
into the heart of the great range of white peaks that formed a serrated 
wall along the southern horizon. Six days’ rations of hard bread were 
distributed to the soldiers, who, though somewhat recovered from the 
exhausting labors of the first passage, were still far from fresh. Every 
piece of artillery had a double quota of horses. The limbers and 
caissons were piled up with extra ammunition, and the columns,went 
away as merrily as if they were on the homeward trip, General 
Gourko and staff* accompanied the main column, but did not leave 
Sophia until noon on the 9th. 

The sun was shining warm and bright, the road was flooded with 
water, and there was every prospect of a complete thaw, as they rode 
along that afternoon past hundreds of pack horses and ox carts that 
toiled in the train of the marching infantry. Before they reached the 
mountains the thermometer suddenly fell below freezing point, a 
driving snow-storm burst upon them, and at sunset they could scarcely 
see the road before them. 

While they were fighting their way along, a courier came up, bring¬ 
ing the news that a parlementaire had come into the lines of General 
Weliaminoff, bringing a telegram from the Minister of War at Con- 


618 


FROM THE BALKANS TO PHILIPPOPOLLS. 


stantinople that an armistice had been accepted by the Russians, and 
that peace was imminent. General Gourko sent a telegram to the 
Grand Duke announcing the fact, and they pushed on, forgetting the 
snow and the cold in the exhilaration of the moment, discussing the 
probabilities of peace, and congratulating themselves on the approach 
of the end which they all felt sure was close at hand. The proposition 
of an armistice was additional proof that the enemy had lost heart. 

The village of Vakarel on the road was burned. Shelter from the 
storm was found in a small village near, but the infantry was obliged 
to bivouac in the snow by the roadside. In the morning everything 
was frozen solid, the road was one sheet of ice, a strong wind was blow¬ 
ing, and, riding through the bivouacs before daybreak the soldiers were 
found huddled together around the fires, half buried in the drifting 
snow. It seemed impossible for human being3 to live in such extreme 
cold, without even the protection of shelter tents. At Ichtiman the 
most gratifying report was received, that the Turks had evacuated 
their positions in Trajan’s Gate, and that Samakoff was also in the 
hands of the Russians; and the appearance of Major Zeki, an aid- 
de-camp of Suleiman Pasha, who had come into the lines with a mes¬ 
sage for the Grand Duke, seemed a confirmation of the news of the 
preceding evening. However, during the day a despatch from head¬ 
quarters arrived with instructions to continue the advance, notwith¬ 
standing the reports of an armistice, and the cavalry pushed on over 
the Pass, and occupied Vejtrenova. No reports arrived from Banja, 
whither it was supposed that Weliaminoff’s column was driving the 
enemy, but General Gourko hurried, on the morning of the 11th, over 
the Pass known as Trajan’s Gate to Vejtrenova, arriving just in time 
to see the black lines of the Turkish column filing along the road near 
Simcina. 

The situation of the Turks was now comprehensible. The plan of 
retreat arranged by Suleiman Pasha was to withdraw the forces from 
Samakoff and Ichtiman in sufficient time to concentrate them at Tatar 
Bazardjik, and follow the army of Chakir Pasha to Adrianople. The 
plan evidently counted on a delay of some days on account of the 
reported armistice, for the Samakoff detachment under Fuad Pasha 
had a longer and more difficult road than the Russians to Tatar Ba¬ 
zardjik, and not a day the start of them. Thus, when this stratagem 
failed the Samakoff force found itself obliged to march day and night 


FROM THE BALKANS TO PHILIPPOPOLIS . 


619 


in order to debouch into the plain before its pursuers. Fuad Pasha 
had perhaps twenty five thousand men in all, and he manoeuvred with 
no little skill. It was indeed an uncomfortable position to be in, retreat¬ 
ing shoulder to shoulder with the advance of the pursuers, threatened 
constantly in the rear, in battle array from sunrise till dark, and 
marching all night. It would have, tried the pluck and endurance of 
any army. Fuad, by placing the Maritza between him and the Rus¬ 
sians, which he did at the first opportunity, protected his line of march 
to some extent, and although there was no road on the south side of the 
river so good as the high road, he moved with grrat rapidity, especially 
after he lost the bulk of his wagon train. 

Of course the detachment that occupied Trajan’s Gate had plenty 
of time to get away, and the army of Chakir Pasha had passed through 
Otlukoi a week before, so that the Samakoff force was menaced with 
complete isolation from the rest of the army, and they retreated with 
the celerity that their situation demanded. Trajan’s Gate, a pass of 
great height, and difficult even in summer, was a solid sheet of ice at 
the time of crossing it. The smooth-shod horses fell at every second 
step, the infantry moved only with the greatest difficulty, and was 
obliged to bivouac in the mountains because the road was blocked by 
cannon which were slid down the steep places with great risk and toil, 
and they had the doubtful satisfaction of watching from Veitrenova the 
rearguard of the Turkish army disappear on its way towards Tatar 
Bazardjik, unable to pursue it, because the infantry did not get over 
the Pass. Nevertheless, during the night the Moscow Regiment cap¬ 
tured a train of nearly three hundred wagons and dispersed three bat¬ 
talions of the enemy. 

Next day the four columns joined in the vicinity of Tatar Bazardjik, 
the detachment Weliaminoff being somewhat behind its assigned posi¬ 
tion, having delayed one day on account of the rumored armistice. 
Tatar Bazardjik was already on fire in several places as Gourko’s 
column came in sight of it from the Pass, and as they reached the 
summit of the last hill bordering the great plain of Philippopolis early 
in the morning, nine distinct columns of smoke were rising from the 
town. Half a dozen battalions of the enemy, Baker Pasha’s division, 
were drawn up across the road a mile in front of the town with tw r o 
lines of skirmishers and a strong rearguard of cavalry posted on the 
road, and a large detachment on the right and left. Evidently noth- 




620 


FROM THE BALKANS TO PHILIPPOPOLIS. 


ing was to be gained by attacking them, for they were manoeuvring to 
cover their retreat, which General Gourko hoped to block the next 
day, so there was only a little artillery practice and slight skirmish 
between the outposts. 

The next morning the advancing column rode through Tatar 
Bazardjik, completely pillaged and half burned, with scarcely an in¬ 
habitant left, and pushed on until sunset. They were then opposite 
the rear of the Turkish column, separated from it by the River Ma- 
ritza, fordable only at long distances. The line of march of both 
armies was parallel, the one hurrying along the railway to reach Phil- 
ippopolis, the other pushing forward on the road to head off the retreat. 
The troops on both sides were nearly exhausted; but there was this 
notable difference between them—the Turkish stragglers were always 
cut off, while the Russians, after a rest of a few hours in some village, 
rejoined their regiments; and while the Turkish force was gradually 
dribbling away, the Russian columns kept full. Part of Schouvaloff’s 
detachment, after a march of thirty miles without halt, forded the river 
on the evening of the 13th, with the thermometer at zero, and pushed 
on rapidly after the Turks, who were still running; but finding them 
too strong to risk an attack with the small force across the river, the . 
detachment was quartered in the village. At daybreak Count Schou- 
valoff, with a dozen battalions, found himself within fifteen hundred 
yards of the enemy, who were so worn out that they had been unable 
to retreat further, and he began a demonstration to delay, if possible, 
further retreat until General Schildner Schuldner’s brigade could ford 
the Maritza near Philippopolis, and turn their right. 

It will be evident that Schouvaloff’s column, which was expected to 
be the last in order of the four, was really the first, and on this de¬ 
volved the duty of arresting the retreat of the enemy, while this rdle 
was to have been filled by Weliaminoff’s detachment. The Turks, 
some forty battalions strong, occupied a position across the railway, 
their left resting on the village of Kavatair, their right on the village 
iff Airanli, and their centre on a small mountain behind Kadikoi, and 
Schouvaloff’s demonstration was made against their left and centre. 
The fight lasted all day long, and as the rice fields afforded little 
shelter the losses were considerable on both sides, the Russian’s count¬ 
ing over three hundred. While this affair was going on, the column of 
General Krudener marched along the road towards Philippopolis, 


FROM THE BALKANS TO PHILIPPOPOLIS. 621 

'while Schildner Sehuldner was ordered to push on to turn the enemy’s 
right. 

At sunrise on the day of the battle, General Gourko and his staff 
were on the road at the point where it is nearest the river. The road 
was crowded with artillery, infantry, and pack horses, when suddenly 
the right of the Turkish force appeared within rifle range on the other 
side the stream. Three battalions were immediately sent across the 
river, part wading, part carried on the horses of staff officers and escort, 
and soon the firing which had already begun on the right spread along 
to the neighborhood of General Gourko and his staff. Batteries un¬ 
limbered right and left of them, and went to work. Turkish shell 
began to burst near the road, and bullets dropped on all sides, wound¬ 
ing men and horses. All day the battle raged without intermission. 
For hours the advance guard of Schildner Schuldner’s column, which 
had long been ordered up, was anxiously looked for, but it did not 
' come along until late in the afternoon, having halted in a village while 
the General rode slowly up to consult with General Gourko. Thus 
the turning movement failed, for the men did not get across the ford 
until sunset, and during the night the enemy quietly slipped past 
Schildner Sehuldner between him and the mountains, and took new 
positions between Stanimaka and Derbendere. Krudener’s detachment 
during the day occupied that part of Philippopolis north of the Ma- 
ritza, but the bridge was burned, and no attempt was made to ford the 
stream. A couple of cannon in position on the rocky height in the 
centre of the town shelled Krudener’s force the whole day, inflicting 
only trifling loss. 

During the evening the squadron of eighty Dragoons of the Guard 
which had carried the advance battalions of Schildner Sehuldner 
across the river, led by Captain Bourago, raided into the city and 
found it evacuated; but a force of the enemy, probably fifteen hundred, 
assembled in some disorder near the railway station, which was burn¬ 
ing. Dismounting, and leaving their horses in shelter, this small 
company advanced quietly along the road to the station, and finding 
cover in a ditch within short range of the Turks opened fire on them 
suddenly, cheering and making all the noise possible. The Turks at 
first returned the fire vigorously, but soon retired, evidently believing 
they were attacked by a large force, and the city was left in possession 
of Captain Bourago and his small squadron. 





622 


FROM THE BALKANS TO PHILIPPOPOLIS. 


Early in the forenoon of the 16th a whole army corps was waiting 
by the burned bridge, while an immense crowd of Bulgarians was 
gathered on the further shore, shouting and gesticulating that the river 
was too deep to ford at that place. The bridge was completely de¬ 
stroyed, and no one seemed to have been master enough of the situation 
to look for a fording-place or arrange a ferry. Prince Tzereteleff 
crossed in a small boat immediately after the arrival of General 
Gourko, and in a few moments a rope ferry was rigged. Several 
natives were ferried across to point out the fords, and in an hour 
General Gourko and his staff entered the town. There was no cere¬ 
monious welcome, merely a service in the church. General Gourko 
took up his quarters in the Russian Consulate. The officers found 
luxurious lodgings in the houses of the chief citizens of the town. 
Good order was the rule, and although the cannon were still roaring 
on the mountain sides south of the city, everything was forgotten in 
the enjoyment of the first hours of comfort since Sophia. All the 
night of the 16th and the whole of the following day the battle went 
on in the mountain. When Fuad had withdrawn his force through 
the narrow gap left between Schouvaloff and the mountains he took up 
position a few miles south of Philippopolis in the vineyards, obliged to 
defend himself from Weliaminoff, who began to hammer away at the 
rear guard, and also compelled to face Schouvaloff and Schildner 
Schuldner, who threatened his advance. How many thousands of the 
Turkish force had been placed hors de combat, captured, dispersed, or 
had escaped to Suleiman Pasha, it is difficult to say, but when they 
made their stand in the mountains with their backs toward the snow- 
covered slopes they counted not more than fifteen thousand men. 
General Dondeville, with the Third Division of the Guard, forded the 
Maritza below Philippopolis, marched up the Stanimaka road, that by 
which Suleiman with a reported force of thirty thousand to forty thou¬ 
sand men had escaped, occupied the town, and thus completed the 
semicircle of thirty thousand Russians around half the number of 
Turks. The latter had lost all their baggage, had open to them no 
way of retreat, for their artillery were without food and probably short 
of ammunition, and had been marching and fighting for the last week, 
day and night; but once at bay they fought like lions. 

On the morning of the 17th they charged down the slopes with the 
bayonet in a mad endeavor to recapture the eighteen cannon left in 


FROM THE BALKANS TO PHIL1PP0F0LIS. 


623 


Dondeville’s hands the day before. One of the commanders, generally 
believed to be Fuad himself, rushed into the thick of the fight with 
Dondeville’s troops, was surrounded, and is reported to have killed and 
wounded seventeen Russians with his own sword before he was finally 
cut down. But this headlong assault was stoutly resisted, General 
Krasnoff especially distinguishing himself at the head of the brigade 
of the Third Division, and that day twelve additional cannon were 
abandoned by the Turks as they retreated sullenly from one terrace to 
another; and when, after a most heroic but hopeless resistance, the 
disorganized, exhausted, famished, half-frozen remnant of an army 
could hold a bold front no longer, it broke up into small bands, and 
under cover of darkness dispersed back in the mountains, leaving the 
remaining twenty cannon on the field. 

After nine days’ marching, with three successive days’ fighting in 
severe weather, all this on six days’ rations of hard bread, the Russian 
troops w r ere unable to continue the pursuit, and were obliged to rest 
for some days. The total loss was about one thousand. The prisoners 
amounted to over that number. Fifty-six cannon were taken, and a 
great army completely broken up. 

To sum up the work of three weeks accomplished by General 
Gourko’s command: It forced two great Balkan passes; occupied 
Sophia and Philippopolis; entirely demolished the whole Turkish 
army of that department, reinforced by twenty battalions from the 
Rasgrad army, with the exception of a few thousand men who accom¬ 
panied Suleiman Pasha; took thirteen guns at Arab Konak, four at 
Sophia, and ninety-four Krupps and three muzzle-loaders near Philip¬ 
popolis, and all this with a probable loss of one thousand men, all told. 








624 


CLOSE OF THE WAR. 


CHAPTER XXXIX. 

CLOSE OF THE WAR 

On the 18th of January, after the battle at Philippopolis, half the 
Turkish army, commanded by Fuad Pasha, fled in the direction of 
Najatchin into the mountains; the other half, under the command of i 
Suleiman Pasha, retreated in the direction of Haskioi, pursued by 
Cenerals Skobeleff and Karzoff. On the 19th, by a rapid military 
movement on the part of the Russians, the Turkish garrison at Adrian- 
ople were compelled to evacuate, and on the following day General 
Strukoff, commanding the vanguard of SkobelefTs column, occupied 
the city without encountering any opposition, and set up a provisional 
government composed of members of different nationalities. The evacu¬ 
ation was caused solely by military necessity, and was not effected by 
negotiation. The Russian advance upon Adrianople was considerably 
delayed after the capture of the Shipka Pass, and the road thither had 
subsequently to be gained by very rapid movements. Vast stores of 
ammunition had been accumulated, which the Turks blew up as they 
left, and they also set fire to the Eski Servai, or Old Palace of the 
Sultans. By abandoning Adrianople the Turks lost an immense 
amount of costly war material, including two hundred heavy guns. 
The fortifications of the place were designed when it was intended to 
form an army of one hundred and fifty thousand men for the defence 
of the town, and fewer than sixty thousand men would not suffice to 
hold the works as they existed at the time of the entry of the Russians. 

It was here that was assembled the great mass of the Turkish fami¬ 
lies that fled from the villages at the approach of the Russians. Fugi¬ 
tives from the entire territory from Plevna to Philippopolis were for 
weeks and even months endeavoring to make their way to Constanti¬ 
nople, the haven safe from the pursuit of the Muscovite. How many 
thousand families had already gained the vicinity of Stamboul before 
the rapid advance of the Russians it is impossible to estimate. The 
long trains of fugitives blocked all the roads of the Turkish retreat, 
and seriously hindered and even stopped the march of the troops. 
Ever since the investment of Plevna, and even before, there was a 



CLOSE OF THE WAR. 


025 



Constantinople and Vicinity, 


general exodus to the southward from all the towns threatened by 
Russia, and hundreds of trains concentrated by converging routes in 
the valley of the Maritza, the tide being naturally directed towards 
Constantinople. No Turkish families having ever been found in any 
of the villages, it had been a long-unanswered question what had be¬ 
come of the population; and now for the first time was it possible to 
appreciate in part the sufferings of these people, and form some ade¬ 
quate idea of the multitude of Mussulman inhabitants who fled panic- 
stricken before the Russians, 

The occupation of Adrianople was by no means a dramatic finale 
of the trans-Balkan campaign. When the Turks evacuated the city 
the troops and most of the munitions were sent to Constantinople, and 
the government of the city was left in the hands of the consuls, namely, 
Messrs. J. E. Blunt, the English Consul; Ghennadil, Consul for 
Greece; Saxe, for the Austro-Hungarian Empire; and Flech, for 
France. At the suggestion of Mr. Blunt, the Turkish authorities had 
ordered away all the irregular troops before the evacuation, and they 
left for the protection of the consuls and for the good order of the tow*. 

40 









626 


CLOSE OF THE WAR. 


a detachment of seventy-two regular soldiers with several officers. On 
the 19th Fasso Effendi was appointed by telegraph governor of the 
town ad interim , and in this capacity he presented himself with the 
consular body and the Greek archbishop to General Strukoff, who on 
the 20th occupied a village very near the city. The General, however, 
refused to recognize any municipal authority, saying there was no 
longer any Sultan or any Governor, and announced to the consuls that 
he would appoint a committee of safety, to be composed of one member 
of every race or sect in the town, saying that he should hold each in¬ 
dividual member of this committee responsible for the acts of the por¬ 
tion of the inhabitants he represented, and finishing his declaration of 
the plan proposed for the government of the town in somewhat these 
words: “ This, gentlemen, I conceive to be the only means of insuring 

good order in the city, because the Armenians hate the Germans, the 
Germans the French, the French the Italians, the Italians the Greeks, 
the Greeks the Bulgarians, and the Bulgarians—they hate everybody.’’ 
This committee was accordingly appointed, and a native police force 
relieved the patrol organized by the consuls, and personally conducted 
by them during the interim between the departure of the Turks and 
the arrival of the Russians. General Skobeleff came by rail on the 
21st, General Gourko four days later, and the Grand Duke on the 
26th. The triumphal entry of the Commander-in-chief was not a 
remarkably brilliant spectacle, nor was there noticeable enthusiasm in 
the crowds that assembled on the way; this was partly due, doubtless, 
to the rain which fell heavily at the time, and partly to the nature of 
the people, who are not disposed to any visible expression of emotion. 

With the occupation of Adrianople the rapid forward movement did 
not cease, and SkobelefFs troops were on the road again after a pause 
of a day or two, forming the central column of the advance toward 
Constantinople. General Gourko’s infantry had come in with empty 
haversacks; marching from twenty to forty-five kilometres a day, they 
had long since left far behind the provision trains, and had been living 
for some days as only a Russian soldier knows how to live. Bread is 
to them a necessity, and how they managed to eke out six davs of two- 
thirds regular ration during ten days of marching and fighting, as 
they did between Sophia and Philippopolis, is a problem difficult to 
solve. Between Philippopolis and Adrianople the bread ration was 
short in a like proportion, but the soldiers managed to live. Of cours*. 












CL OISE OF THE WAR. 


627 


General Gourko could not keep on any- further without resting his 
men and awaiting the transport trains, so his advance via Lule Burgas 
to Rodosto was postponed until the first day of February. 

During the forenoon of January 31st there were vague rumors that 
the preliminaries of peace were to be signed that afternoon, and all the 
diplomats keeping a discreet silence on the subject, nothing further 
was made public until about dark in the evening a mass was celebrated 
in the Konak, where the Grand Duke had his headquarters, and the 
bands played, and a tidal wave of joyous cheering spread all over the 
city. To say that everybody was heartily delighted by this proof that 
peace was imminent, is to give the faintest possible idea of the general 
joy that prevailed. It was a most welcome and complete surprise, for 
the Pashas had sent a messenger to Constantinople, asking for new in¬ 
structions, more than a week before, and no answer had been received. 
The Grand Duke insisted that they should give their final decision 
about the propositions for a basis of peace on the 31st, and on the very 
morning of the day the same aid-de-camp of Sulieman Pasha who 
came to General Gourko at Ichtnia with the news of an armistice, Zeki 
Bay, appeared bringing a message from the Sublime Porte asking why 
the movements had not ceased, and declaring that the document con¬ 
senting to the conditions had been sent a week before. The interrup¬ 
tion of communications was the reason why the message had not reached 
headquarters before, a delay which changed materially the aspect of 
affairs in general, and gave opportunity for the occupation of consider¬ 
able territory. However, the basis of peace was signed without further 
hesitation, painful as it was for the Pashas to put their names to a de¬ 
mand which meant to them the death of Turkey. The scene was 
extremely touching when the venerable Namyk Pasha could not refrain 
from shedding tears at the thought of the future of the country he 
loved so much and had served so well. On the evening of the 6th the 
Pashas, who had received a telegram from Constantinople informing 
them that their mission was a special one, and was now finished, took 

the train for that city. ' _ .... 

The negotiations for peace had been begun as far back as the middle 
of December, when, after the Turkish reverse at Plevna, the Sublime 
Porte had despatched to the European Powers, signatanes of the 
Treaty of 1871, a Circular Note which practically defined the situation 
and invited mediation. 




628 


CLOSE OF THE WAR. 


The Note commenced by the statement that the origin of the present 
important events was perfectly known. A well-sustained exposition 
■which followed was couched in the following strain : 

“ The Imperial Government is conscious of having done nothing to 
provoke war; it has done everything to avoid it; it has vainly sought 
to discover Russia’s motives in her aggressive campaign. 

The Porte has shown its desire for improvement by reorganizing its 
judicial system, by devising reforms without distinction of race or 
religion, according to the Constitution which has everywhere been well 
received. 

A partial reform is of no avail; the adoption of improvements in one 
part of the Empire only would be a premium to other communities to 
revolt. 

Any doubt as to the execution of these reforms should disappear 
before the solemn declarations which the Porte now makes. 

The state of war simply retards such reforms and is disastrous to the 
country generally, destroying agricultural interests, killing industry, 
and ruining financial reorganizations. 

Independently of these arrangements for reform, what reason can 
there be for continuing the war? 

Russia has declared she is not animated by a spirit of conquest. 
The military honor of both sides must be abundantly satisfied. What 
object can there be in prolonging a contest ruinous to both countries ? 

The moment has arrived for the belligerent Powers to accept peace 
without affecting their dignity. 

Europe might now usefully interpose her good offices, since the 
Porte is ready to come to terms. 

The country is not at the end of its resources, and is still prepared 
to fight in its own defence; it is ready, moreover, to sacrifice all for the 
independence and integrity of the Fatherland. 

But the Porte is desirous to stop the further effusion of blood, and, 
therefore, appeals to the feelings of justice which must animate the 
Great Powers, hoping they will receive these overtures favorably.” 

In response to this Note the British Government, through Lord 
Augustus Loftus, offered its services as a mediator between the bellig¬ 
erents, which offer was communicated to Prince Gortschakoff at St. 
Petersburg. The latter replied to the proposal, that the first thing to 
be done was to conclude an armistice, and further stated that negotia- 


CLOSE OF THE WAX. 


629 


tions for a suspension of hostilities must be entered upon directly 
between the military authorities of the two armies in the field. 

Instructions were at once sent to the Russian military authorities in 
Asia and Europe that they should receive any overtures that might be 
made by the Turkish commanders for an armistice, and the conditions 
on which Russia was willing to grant it were immediately afterwards 
specified. 

On the 8th of January the Council of Ministers at Constantinople 
agreed upon the conditions of an armistice, and submitted them to the 
ratification of the Sultan. The latter having ratified them, Raouf 
Pasha, the Minister of War, ordered the Turkish commanders in 
the field to conclude an armistice with the Russian commanders. The 
Porte at first refused to negotiate at the same time the two questions of 
peace and armistice; but the Sultan subsequently ordered the Turkish 
emissaries to commence the discussion of both questions. 

The preliminary discussion was held at the headquarters of the 
Grand Duke Nicholas; but he declared that he was not in a position to 
commence negotiations immediately, because his instructions had not 
yet reached him. They were considered too important to be trans¬ 
mitted by telegraph, and were entrusted to a special messenger, who 
had been despatched from St. Petersburg on the 4th of January. The 
reply of the Russian Government arrived on the 13th. It stated no 
conditions, but simply demanded that the Porte should send two pleni¬ 
potentiaries to Kesanlick to treat with the Grand Duke Nicholas. It 
was expressly desired that these delegates should have the fullest pos¬ 
sible powers, the Grand Duke on his part being entrusted with the 
fullest powers to negotiate with them. 

In consequence of the demand that the delegates should have full 
power to treat without further reference to Constantinople, a meeting 
of the Grand Council was hdd on the 13th, at which it was decided to 
send Server Pasha, the foreign minister, and Namyk Pasha as the 
Turkish plenipotentiaries. On the 31st the preliminary bases for the 
conclusion of an armistice were accepted and signed by the Turkish 
'plenipotentiaries at the headquarters. The sole object of the bases was 
to mark the limits of the ground on which a definitive peace—whether 
between the belligerents as regards questions which touch them alone, 
or whether the participations of the Great Powers for the settlement 
of questions of European interest is taken into consideration—could be 


630 


CLOSE OF THE WAR. 


negotiated. The preliminary conditions of peace which were laid 
before the Turkish delegates by the Grand Duke Nicholas, the Com¬ 
mander-in-chief, are the following : 

“ In the event of the Turks at advanced posts asking for peace or 
an armistice, the Commander-in-chief is to inform them that hostilities 
cannot be suspended until the following bases have been previously 
accepted: 

“ 1. Bulgaria, in limits determined by the majority of the Bulga¬ 
rian population, which shall in no case be less than those indicated by 
the Constantinople Conference, shall be formed into an autonomous 
tributary Principality, with a national Christian Government, and a 
native militia. The Ottoman army shall no longer remain in it except 
at some points to be decided upon by common agreement. 

“ 2. The independence of Montenegro shall be recognized. An in¬ 
crease of territory equivalent to that which the fortune of arms has 
placed in her hands shall be secured to her. The definitive frontier 
shall be fixed subsequently. 

“ 3. The independence of Roumania and Servia shall be reorganized. 
An adequate territorial compensation shall be secured to the former, 
and a rectification of frontier to the latter. 

“ 4. The autonomous administration, with adequate guarantees, shall 
be granted to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Similar reforms shall be in¬ 
troduced into the other Christian provinces of Turkey in Europe. 

“ 5. The Porte shall agree to compensate Russia for the expenses of 
the war and for the losses which she has been compelled to incur. 
The nature, whether pecuniary, territorial, or otherwise, of this indem¬ 
nity, shall be settled hereafter. His Majesty, the Sultan, shall agree 
to come to an understanding with the Emperor of Russia for the pro¬ 
tection of the rights and interests of Russia in the Straits of the Bos¬ 
phorus and the Dardanelles. 

“ As an evidence of the acceptance of these essential conditions, the 
Turkish Plenipotentiaries shall proceed immediately to Odessa or 
Sebastopol in order there to negotiate the preliminaries of peace with 
the Russian plenipotentiaries. As soon as the acceptance of the fore- ' 
going conditions has been notified to the Commanders-in-chief of the 
Imperial armies, the armistice conventions are to be negotiated at both 
seats of war, and hostilities may be suspended provisionally. Both 
Commanders-in-chief shall have the right to complete the above con- 




CLOSE OF THE WAR. 


631 


ditions by indicating certain strategical points and fortresses to be 
evacuated as material guarantees for the Sublime Porte accepting the 
armistice conditions and commencing negotiations for peace. ,, 

The armistice conditions agreed upon between the Russian and the 
Turkish plenipotentiaries were as follows : 

“ Turkey raises the blockade, and freedom of trade will commence 
immediately. The Turks evacuate Oulina, Rustchuk, Silistria, and 
Widdin. The Russians raise the blockade of the Danube, which will 
be declared open to navigation immediately afterwards. The Russians 
are to occupy the coast from the Russian frontier to Baltjik, then from 
Misevra to Derkioi, and the posts of Bourgas and Midia, on the Black 
Sea; in the Sea of Marmora they will occupy the coast from Bujuk- 
Tchekmedje to Sharkoi, and in the Archipelago from Ourchato Makri. 
Railway traffic on the Turkish lines will be open for trade. The 
landing of merchandise, with the exception of ammunition, will be per¬ 
mitted at the ports.” 

To resume the narrative of military movements. In prospect of the 
advance of the Russians beyond Adrianople, the Sultan had issued an 
order requiring all the male population of Constantinople to defend the 
lines which, extending from Buryuk Chekmegee, on the Sea of Mar¬ 
mora, to the inlet of Karaburnu, on the Black Sea, formed the defences 
of the capital.. This outer important natural barrier, stronger than 
that by which any other capital in Europe is defended, is formed by a 
chain of deep hills, along the northern edges of which are marshes ter¬ 
minating in a lake. The length of this line of defence from sea to sea 
is twenty-five miles; but, the flanks being covered by lakes and rivers, 
the main defence, under the command of Mukhtar Pasha, was concen¬ 
trated in the open country in the centre, which is undulating. 

General Skobeleff, after the fight of Shenova, near Shipka, left Ke- 
zanlik on January 15th, and his advanced guard reached Tchataldja 
on the 5th of February, having made the distance, two hundred and 
seventy-five miles, in twenty days. He performed the distance from 
Kezanlik to Semenli Junction, on the Philippopolis and Yamboli Rail¬ 
ways, fifty-five miles in forty hours, and from Kezanlik to Adrianople, 
one hundred miles, in four days. When we compare the rapid march¬ 
ing of Skobeleff and Gourko during this period of the campaign, fight¬ 
ing through their enemy’s country, half-devastated by flying Turks, 
with the slow, heavy movements of the army across Roumania, a 


632 


CLOSE OF THE WAX. 


friendly country, in the beginning of the war, one can hardly believe 
it was the same army. 

Skobeleff’s march from Adrianople to Tchataldja was almost as 
quick as from Kezanlik. The troops marched along the line of rail¬ 
way without baggage and artillery, these being brought by rail. They 
-lived partly on the supplies found in the country, and prepared by 
Strukoff, and partly on provisions brought from Adrianople by rail. 
At Luli Burgas Skobeleff set all the bakeries going, and found they 
could produce twelve thousand loaves per day, so that he was enabled 
to furnish his troops with fresh bread every other day. No fighting 
occurred except a smart cavalry skirmish at the station of Tchorlow, 
where the Russian advance overtook the Turkish rear guard. 

The rapidity of movement was not in the least relaxed, even 
after the signature of the armistice. Although the Turkish General 
had received no orders from Constantinople, and had therefore trans¬ 
mitted no orders to his troops to evacuate the territory, as agreed upon 
in the armistice, the Russians pushed forward and drove the Turks out 
by threats and force everywhere up to the line of demarcation. When 
General Strukoff arrived at Siliveri he found the Turks still there, and 
they at first refused to leave the place, as they had no orders to that 
effect. It was not till he brought up a battery and threatened to fire 
on them that they finally consented to leave, and then the Turkish 
commander did so only after putting in a protest against what he 
called a violation of the armistice. It was stipulated in the protocol 
that the Russian lines should be from Buyuk Tcheknedje, on the Sea of 
Marmora, along the right bank of the Kara Su River to the Lake of 
Derkos, on the Black Sea; and the Turkish line from Matchak Tchek¬ 
nedje, on the Sea of Marmora, to the village of Ak Punar, on the 
Black Sea, leaving a space of about seven miles between the lines as 
neutral ground. By the 11th of February the evacuation of this 
neutral territory was completed, and Muklitar’s army had retired 
behind the lines of Bujak Tcheknedje. 

Up to the 2d of March the Russian troops continued in the positions 
assigned to them in the armistice; but on that day there was a forward 
movement to San Stefano, at which place, on the following day, the 
Treaty of Peace was signed. It bears the title of Preliminaries of 
Peace, and contains twenty-nine articles, the substance of which may 
be stated as follows: 


CLOSE OF THE WAR. 


633 


The opening articles of the Treaty relate to Montenegro, Servia, 
Roumania, and Bulgaria. The indemnity to be paid by Turkey is fixed 
at 1,410,000,000 roubles, 1,000,000,000 of which are represented b] 
cessions of territory in Asia. Nothing is fixed concerning the perioc 
and conditions of payment of the remaining 310,000,000 roubles. No 
guarantee is stipulated, and no mention is made of the Egyptian and 
Bulgarian tributes, or of a cession of the Turkish fleet. The treaty 
states that the Russian and Turkish Governments shall come to an 
understanding subsequently upon the mode of payment. Pirot re¬ 
mains Bulgarian territory. Servia comprises Silnitza, Novi-Bazar, 
and AVranja-Montenegro includes Antivari, Podgoritza, Spurg, and 
Nicsics. All the Bulgarian fortresses are to be demolished, and no 
Turkish garrisons will remain in Bulgaria. A military road is to be 
established for the Turkish post and telegraphs and the passage of 
Turkish troops, who will not, however, be allowed to make any stay in 
the country while passing through. Mussulmans may return to Bul¬ 
garia. If within two years hence they shall not have settled all affairs 
connected with their property, the latter will be sold for the benefit of 
the widows’ and orphans’ fund. The arrears of taxes in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina are not to be claimed. The revenue until 1880 is to be 
applied to indemnify the sufferers by the insurrection, and to provide 
for local needs. In case of disputed claims, Austrian and Russian com¬ 
missioners will act as arbitrators. The navigation of the Straits is de¬ 
clared free for merchant vessels, both in time of peace and war. Fifty 
thousand Russian troops, consisting of six divisions of infantry and two 
of cavalry, will occupy Bulgaria for about two years, until the forma¬ 
tion of a Bulgarian militia, the strength of which is to be fixed later 
between Russia and Turkey. The Russian army of occupation will 
preserve its communications with Russia, both by the way of Rou¬ 
mania and the Black Sea ports of Varna and Bourgas, and the neces¬ 
sary depots will be established. The Russian troops during their stay 
will be maintained at the expense of the country. The war material 
in the Bulgarian fortresses, including Shumla and Varna, remain the 
property of the Porte. Batoum, Ardahan, Kars, and Bayazid, with 
the territories comprised, are ceded to Russia. A treaty is to be con¬ 
cluded between Turkey and Roumania. The latter is authorized to 
make her demand for indemnity direct to the Porte. No indemnity 
for Montenegro or Servia is stipulated. Servians and Montenegrins 



634 


CLOSE OF THE WAR. 


travelling or established in Turkey will be subject to the Ottoman laws 
in so far as the latter are not contrary to the international law. Rus¬ 
sian, Turkish, and Bulgarian Commissioners will determine the amount 
of the Bulgarian tribute according to the average actual revenue. 

The reforms stipulated at the first sitting of the Conference will be 
applied in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thessaly and Epirus will have an 
organization similar to that of Crete in 1868. No mention is made of 
Greece or Crete in the treaty. The privileges of the Monks of Russian 
origin at Mount Athos are maintained. No mention is made of the 
occupation of Erzeroum or Trebizond ; but the Russian troops have the 
right to embark at Trebizond on returning to Russia. The period fixed 
for the Russian evacuation of Turkish territory in Asia is six months. 
The evacuation of Turkish territory in Europe will commence imme¬ 
diately, and be completed within three months. The European com¬ 
mission for the navigation of the Danube preserves its rights intact. 
The Porte engages to reestablish the navigation at its own expense, 
and to indemnify private persons who have suffered loss by the war. 
This double charge, which will not amount to less than 500,000 francs, 
will be deducted from the sums due from the commission to the Porte. 
Pending the conclusion of a new treaty of commerce between Russia 
and Turkey, the present tariffs remain as before the war. Turkey 
undertakes to settle in a conciliatory spirit all actions between Russian 
and Turkish subjects, and to execute immediately all legal judgments 
already delivered. The treaty declares that Russia, not wishing to 
annex territory, receives the Dobrudschan in order to cede it to Rou- 
mania in exchange for the Roumanian portion of Bessarabia. It is 
stipulated that the question of the Turco-Persian frontier shall be set¬ 
tled within a brief period. The treaty is to be ratified within fifteen 
days, but its provisions become immediately obligatory. No mention 
is made of the ratification of the treaty by a Congress, nor of the capi¬ 
tulations, nor of a Russo-Turkish Alliance. 

For several days the signing of the treaty had been momentarily 
expected, and the public feeling in Constantinople, harassed by the 
tedious delay of the much-desired event, became more and more im¬ 
pressionable, as day followed day and reports of the conclusion of peace 
succeeded rumors of a general European war. The statements of the 
demands of Russia were followed by stories of suspicious movements of 
the English fleet, and even of the landing of the British troops on Turk- 


CLOSE OF THE WAR. 


635 



Scene on the Bosphorus. 


ish ground. For days it had seemed as if all parties were standing on 
a volcano. Large patrols of soldiers paced the streets confessedly to 
guard against an expected popular movement, although the quiet was 
perfect and no disturbance occurred. The hush was almost ominous in 
its completeness. The smallest hints or rumors spread everywhere like 
lightning, and the situation was discussed earnestly and in undertones 
on all sides. Such was the anxiety of the alarmists that their dis¬ 
torted vision made them discover in the white tents of the Turkish 
army on the distant hills north of the city, the camp of the Russians 
drawing insidiously nearer the city gates. Every steamer to San 
Stefano was crowded. Every newspaper found impatient readers. 

The weather had been like summer until the evening of Saturday, 
the 2d of March, when the clear sky became clouded, and it was evi¬ 
dent that a storm was brewing. “ Now,” said the superstitious, “ this 
sudden change means a change in the peaceful aspect of the uolitical 











636 


CLOSE OF THE WAR . 


horizon, and to-morrow we shall find ourselves in the new war.” But 
as the storm was gathering that night, the last threatening war-clouds 
dispersed and disappeared, and the bright dawn of peace was near at 
hand. In a house by the seaside at San Stefano, shaking by the in¬ 
creasing gale that tore across the Sea of Marmora, were busy all night 
long the secretaries of both diplomatic bodies copying and arranging for 
the signatures to the Treaty of Peace, the result of the now concluded 
negotiations. All night long Prince TzeretelefF dictated the treaty to 
his colleague, Chebachoff, who wrote and wrote through the long hours 
until the document was finished. Although wearied by continuous 
labor, these two secretaries, appreciating the value of their work, 
kept at their task, only stopping for refreshment and to listen to the 
scratch of the reeds of the Turkish secretaries in an adjoining room, 
busy with their own copy, until the full dawn found them still at the 
table. Then, the last word being on paper, they slept amid the con¬ 
fusion of documents, maps, and volumes, as a soldier sleeps in his 
harness. 

Scarcely was it daylight when, notwithstanding the storm, there was 
an unusual movement in the village. There was a general idea that 
peace was to be signed that day. The steamers from Constantinople 
came rolling along through the rough sea, overladen with excursionists 
attracted by the review which had been announced to take place in 
celebration of the anniversary of the Czar’s accession to the throne. 
Greeks, Bulgarians, Turks, and Russians crowded to the little village, 
besieging the restaurants, swarming about the doors of houses whence 
were supposed to issue some of the great personages who were to 
become famous in history, all impatiently awaiting the hour of two, 
the appointed time of the review. The horses of the Grand Duke and 
his staff were gathered about the entrance to his quarters, and the keen¬ 
eyed spectators ready to interpret the slightest movement of the Com¬ 
mander-in-chief formed unbroken ranks around the group of horses in 
the street. 

One o’clock passed. Two o’clock passed, and still no movement. 
People began to grow serious, began to feel that something was in the 
air, were sure that this was the decisive moment, that peace and war 
were trembling in the scale, and one said to the other, solemnly, “ This 
is an event in history,” and each believed himself an actor in the 
scene, such was its impressiveness. At length word was given out that 


CLOSE OF THE WAR. 


637 



Door of an Oriental Private House. 


the review was postponed until three o’clock ; but that hour came and 
went, and brought only another postponement for an hour. Later, 
rain fell; but people remained at their posts. At last their patience 
was rewarded. About four o’clock the Grand Duke mounted and 
rode to the Diplomatic Chancery, where he asked at the door, “ Is it 
































































638 


CLOSE OF THE WAR. 


ready ?” and then galloped towards the hill where the army was drawn 
up. Here there was a halt again for a few moments. Finally, a car¬ 
riage came whirling along. General IgnatiefF was in it, and when he 
approached he rose and said: 

“ I have the honor to congratulate your Highness on the signature 
of peace.” 

There was a long, loud shout. Then the Grand Duke, followed by 
a hundred officers, dashed forward to where the troops were formed on 
rising ground close by the sea-coast, just behind San Stefano light¬ 
house, and began riding along the lines. As he passed, the soldiers 
did not know that peace had been signed, as still it was unannounced; 
but soon the news spread, and the cheering grew louder and more 
enthusiastic. There were Schouvaloff’s and Bauch’s divisions, with 
the sharpshooters of the guard, and cavalry and artillery in line, and 
the Grand Duke passed between the ranks in review. Very different, 
indeed, was the appearance of these soldiers now and that of the same 
men months before. During their interval of rest they had patched 
and cleaned their clothes, repaired and polished their boots, washed 
and brushed up generally, so that they looked as trim and neat as 
could possibly be expected. 

After riding between the lines the Grand Duke halted on a little 
eminence, whence all the troops could be seen, and formally made the 
announcement of the peace : 

“ I have the honor to inform the army that, with the help of God, 
we have concluded a treaty of peace.” 

Then another shout burst forth from twenty thousand throats, ris¬ 
ing, swelling, and dying away. There was a general feeling of relief 
and satisfaction. There stood the famous regiment of Peter the Great, 
the Praobrajensky, often the first to attack in many of the late battles 
of the war. There were the troops who had faced the enemy on the 
bleak summits of the Balkans at Arab Konak fora long, cold, and 
terrible month. There were the men who had toiled over the slippery 
mountain paths, scantily fed, thinly dressed, dragging the heavy guns 
across into the valley, finding, after their struggles with cold, hunger, 
and fatigue, a desperate enemy ready to resist them on every hilltop. 
These were the same brave fellows who had made the long march from 
Sophia to Philippopolis, who had run that race for enormous stakes 
with Suleiman s army, and finally threw their great force against the 


CLOSE OF THE WAR. 


639 


wall of the Rhodope mountains, and demolished it. These were the 
men whose courage, devotion, and unparalleled endurance will go 
down to history. And there, gathered scarcely more than a rifle-shot 
away, was the enemy they had found worthy of their steel. For on 
the crest of the neighboring hill stood the Turks in groups, interested 
spectators of the scene ; these very fellows who had kept the snowy 
ridge of the Shandarnik, defending gallantly the great gate of Rou- 
melia, and who at last, after a memorable retreat, had fought likt 
heroes on the hills at Stanimaka. These two armies stood looking at 
each other at this moment of final peace. Like true soldiers they had 
learned to respect and esteem each other, and welcomed peace as an 
honorable finish to the fight which they craved not to prolong. It was 
the beginning of a new friendship formed on the basis of actual ex¬ 
perience of qualities that had hitherto been unrecognized. 

After the review, gathering his officers about him where the priest 
stood ready for the Te Deum, the Grand Duke spoke briefly and em¬ 
phatically, saying: “ To an army which has accomplished what you 
have, my friends, nothing is impossible.” 

Then all dismounted, uncovered, and a solemn service was con¬ 
ducted, the soldiers all kneeling. Never was a peace celebrated under 
more dramatic and picturesque conditions, or with more impressive 
surroundings. The two armies face to face, the clearing storm, the 
waning light of day, the rush of the wind, and the near wash of the 
wave mingling with the chant of the priests and the responses of the 
soldiers, and the roar of the Sea of Marmora swelling and falling. 
The landscape, always of great beauty, now formed a wonderfully 
appropriate background to the picture. Across the fretting, chafing 
waters of the sea the dome and slender minarets of St. Sophia came 
up sharply against the sky, the dominant points in the interesting 
Silhouette of distant Stambonl. Away to the south, the Princes Islands 
rose like great mounds, dark and massive, against the distant Asiatic 
shore, and behind them was hidden the English fleet. Above and far 
beyond the white peak of Mount Olympus unveiled for the moment its 
majestic summit as the rays of the ruddy sunset were reflected from 
the snow-covered flanks. 

The religious ceremony over, the Grand Duke took his stand, and 
the army began to file past with a swinging, rapid stride, in forcible 
contrast to the weary pace with which they used to drag themselves 


640 


CLOSE OF THE WAR . 


slowly along at the end of that long and exhausting chase, scarcely at 
times able to put one foot before the other. The night was falling, 
and darkness settled quickly over the scene. As day closed the Grand 
Duke was still sitting immovable on his horse, and the troops were 
still passing. The joyful shouts were still ringing in the air, and the 
measured tramp, tramp going off in the darkness. 

SO ENDED THE WAR OF 1877-78. 








































A 


^ C 0 N C A ^o. 



»A A - 

'V ,v.., V 

0° \ 


0 v K 


*0 o x 


9 I A 


.O.* & Z 



<0 V 

A ** 0 


A 


0 




\° A<. 



W 


o 5 ^> 


z. 



,<Y 


9 I A 


V 


« A 

^ ^ X 

<6 <. y O « A * A o, *1 s s v 

>* *♦ v 1 .* *, % A /r*, % * * 0 °V —«, -* 



tjh ^v, ** 

=> ,f b 0 

Z , Z 

O A ^b 0 

- i A - - 

^ < 6 ^ <■ 

V 1 8 *^> .A 




A- ^ 


x 00 ^. 



'*b o'* 


g 5 '’a- 



^ V* 


1 °°,. 


A 


aV <n 
A '-/*. 


A 



x \A cJ> -> A o R 

’ v v o”'„ V 9 " # A *'* 0 ' A 

'>* A ^ -A^><A/L. r ^ 


^ A » 



A -v 



•* > A A - V^V'*' * Aa 

. > O ^ / v s A ^ J n , A A O * , , s A 

!>' t"“ * * A, A c“' ,c * "*b„ A v . 

Jp/l///^ + >-•. 4.X <. xV\\wa wr "C 

*>* „\ *fV V? o 



'co' 


^ *■ AAV ^ A A'!..A-1* 

v s 'A A V <p ^ * An 


A .# 

tP (\ V 


Z ^ V 

<L *>* 2 

r .A A O 

*** * -,-**-*. 

>0" 



N ,. /_ >' 

Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 


rz^ -p 4 ” "™ **'*•■ a u,c L -" Jur ' r ' cc H cl m , u ' 

Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
A " ». . Treatment Date: Nov. 2002 


•• -X*^/°\’ • • 

V A .-Vfltov a / 


PreservationTechnologies 


^ < 





A>' An 



A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 

111 Thomson Park Drive 
Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
(724) 779-2111 


A A 


WAm* 


nap 






I 0 * X * ^ 


** A N CD * 



1 o * 


©, 





« *b 0 ^ 

* £ A 

"«t %. v> . s '' '* -> 

v&? 4 r c ^ A v * * 

, * <& 
z 7 

!■ ^ > °o A ■ ' A * A> 

A # ' < ” io 

**, 4 » * % j ** 

^ V* 1 o 

>> * • •* • y 0 ,,. o ;v 

L V % / /^Slk: % ^ 

»* %. ° 


,% A A 

* - *A V* 


x 0 °,. 



’•-•A * 0 a 

,9 * " * 0 s C k V S 

-. A~^ ^ 5 ? *. 'P * K 

Kt <A * jA^$r A) ° <'• \i> * 

y >*. C.S V v •'•• /h o <S‘ ,v\ v o, 

A « SSs^vy/A ✓ </> «v 

c *>> z 




J^f\r 


& ■? 

^ ^ ' » * S ' A 0 , , ^ - 

* " o 0 ' ** J *1 % 

* ^ ^ ^ 




*» aA' <v -* wmmr ° ^ 

* * ^ * oV « 

^ **v* 4 G vl B 

% °o 0 ° " ^ 


A" O' A 1 -'' A ', 

11 * . ^ s ,. f e-.. * 3 „ 0 ’ J> 

V > ,a 0 ' ■» 



o * ». ^ .A. _ 

t <> o r\ 

^ v 3 0 ° ^ V 

•>* v *• 

o o N 


\ 0c ^. 







- -s $ % ' 

yir * ^ * 

* ** . | g * 0 * K ^ \ 

a' « l * < %<> -V 

0 *&/r??^\ ^ sA S 




c> * ^ o o ^ * 

^ ^ ^ ° ■° y \ i * o/% ^ • ■ '* v 

cA /fAW/lo ^ ,Y* ^ 

^ C.'S ry\ \ $5« /A o <T* ,AV 

'<^ ? « tV\\\(&w//i) •t/' ,^v o 

c, z 

^ "h,. ° 


m. 


• ^ * y * 0 ^ <c> \-s 

■ -v aA f? 5 > ■** ^ 

'' ' ^ ".■ A A - 

7- 



O c 

^ „<$>' " A ■ S'^ v ^ 

^ 'A*s s ^ y 0 * ^ * a A o 

,0 V V ^ ^ A o>V c 0 

0 V V ^/vn-, -1 *P ^ * 

!&?/{[/A*? -e •>'. a\ <<. 




































